Pitso: These are difficult times

Cape Town - Mamelodi Sundowns boss Pitso Mosimane has called for calm following a difficult week for the club.

Bad things tend to happen in threes...and that was certainly the case for Sundowns over the past seven days. First, Chippa United’s Frederic Nsabiyumva knocked them out of the Nedbank Cup with a 94th minute goal, then Downs suffered their first loss of the PSL season, losing 2-0 to AmaZulu on Tuesday.

That prompted a scathing open letter from former Downs star Toni Silva, where he accused Mosimane of being “weak and unprofessional”, amongst other things.

But a resolute Mosimane is calling for calm.

"These are difficult times now," the 2016 CAF Coach of the Year told The Sowetan.

"This is when the whole team comes together. And I am talking about everybody: the management, the board and the supporters because these are difficult times.

"And during difficult times you need all the support. We are human beings also, so we [as coaches] also need support. You just have to work on the players' minds because you don't want to lose the confidence of the players."