Pitso laments injuries to key players

Cape Town - Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane claims a number of injuries have restricted him from rotating his team, following their recent slump in form.

The Brazilians have failed to register a victory in their last three games, after being knocked out of the CAF Champions League and Nedbank Cup last week, followed by their 0-0 draw with Ajax Cape Town on Wednesday.

Mosimane believes squad rotation can be very tricky if you don't have a full-strength squad available for selection.

"I can hear the media is busy with that question, 'Change the team, change the team'," he told reporters.

"We went 20 matches unbeaten with this team, and now I must change it? Why should I change it? And then when I change it and it doesn’t work out, then? Who do I blame - I blame myself.

"But important players we have to change the game are not there - [Anthony] Laffor and [Mzikayise] - Mashaba only trained one day, [Mogakolodi] Ngele is not yet back, an important player in the midfield [Bongani Zungu], you can see Kekana has lost his soulmate, with Zungu not there.

"So we have to understand the reality - those are four key players, important players, and if they are not there, we just have to listen to what the game says. That's what the reality is, so we can’t be all emotional now and say, 'Freshen the team'. When I was winning, no-one was saying I must freshen the team.

"So yes, I’ve got other players, but they're in the ward, so what must I do? It's life."

'Downs host Soweto giants Kaizer Chiefs at Loftus Stadium in their next Premiership encounter on Saturday night.