Marumo Gallants interim head coach Raymond Mdaka is feeling the mounting pressure as the club lost their second consecutive game with a 3-1 scoreline to Mamelodi Sundowns in the Nedbank Cup last 16 clash at Toyota Stadium on Thursday night.
Mdaka blames Bahlabane Ba Ntwa’s busy schedule for the Downs’ loss which prevented them from advancing to the tournament’s quarterfinals.
Gallants are currently fighting to survive the chop in the DStv Premiership. And on the other hand, they are still in the CAF Confederation Cup.
Being eliminated from the Nedbank Cup competition could be a blessing in disguise for Gallants, given the position they are at in the South African football top-flight.
And Mdaka admitted he is concerned with his players’ welfare given their busy match schedules.
However, the coach reckons that they will try their best to put their players in the right state of mind. With that, hopefully, they will be able to get fruitful results moving forward.
MARUMO GALLANTS TO SOFTEN THEIR MINDS
“We are trying to soften our minds to make sure that we feel we are not tired,” Mdaka said in a post-match interview.
“The mind is the strongest aspect of personnel. So, if the mind says we can go then we will have to.”
He went on to reveal that they made their players well aware of the mammoth task ahead because they need to save the club from the sinking ship.
“What we are saying to boys is that we have got a mountain to climb. This is because we need to secure league,” he added.
“We need to win games and we are still playing in the CAF. We only have two days in between, you need to recover and manage the game. These are some of the things we need to work on.”
The club’s next assignment will be against TS Galaxy at home on Sunday, 5 March 2023.
The game is scheduled to start at 15:30 at Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein.
As things stand, Bahlabane ba Ntwa are languishing at the basement of the log standings with 18 points from 21 outings.
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