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Mosimane: We have pride to play for

Cape Town - Despite having already secured the Absa Premiership title, Mamelodi Sundowns boss Pitso Mosimane says they will not lift their foot off the pedal in their remaining two matches.

Mosimane doesn't want his team to lose against a Bidvest Wits team that pushed them for the league title, or lose against Stars in a match where they will lift the trophy.

Sundowns were shown what happens when they let celebrations get the better of them, with Medeama almost spoiling the party in the first-leg of the CAF Confederation Cup play-offs but they recovered to win 3-1.

"We will be much better in the Wits game because we picked ourselves up and scored," Mosimane said.

"We feel good. We have nothing to lose, you know that. But we have pride to play for. We have integrity to play for.

"We have set our goals in the number of points we want to collect. We want to pass our target of 65 points that we won the league with before. We are competing with ourselves.

"We want to do better. We don't want to lose against Wits. We won't be resting any players. They must play. It's a big game."

The tone when he said that they don't want to lose to Wits was defiant, but Mosimane refused to label that match a grudge game.

"How can it be a grudge game when the league is wrapped up? I mean really," Mosimane said. "The league is finished. What are we playing for? We are playing for integrity.

"There are other teams who are fighting to finish in third place. We want goals. We are a professional team. We don't want to affect the results of teams who are competing against Wits and Platinum Stars.

"Once you start doing that, people will be unhappy with you. Those who are fighting for third and fourth will say that I am costing them if I play a weakened team against Platinum Stars.

"People want to play in the Confederation Cup next year and others want to avoid the big guns in the MTN8, so you have to be a gentleman.

"I don't want other coaches to be upset with me. Even against Platinum Stars we will be a full strength team, I don't want us to lose when we are going to raise the trophy."

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