Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Rulani Mokwena says he has a soft spot for Cavin Johnson but says the squad will be prepared to face their arch-rivals Kaizer Chiefs at FNB Stadium.
Sundowns could win the title at FNB Stadium on Thursday, or be awarded a Guard Of Honour as 2023/24 league champions, should Golden Arrows beat Stellenbosch this evening in their DStv Premiership showdown.
Ahead of the game iDiski Times posed a question to Mokwena over whether he agrees with several coaches this season who suggested Amakhosi have been unlucky this campaign with their standings not reflecting their overall performance.
“Do I agree they have been unlucky? I don’t think I can answer that, I don’t think I’ve watched them with so much detail, I have watched… because before I’m a football coach, I’m a football fan, I’m a lover of the game,” Mokwena said.
“So when I get an opportunity to watch our opponents or competitors I do so [often] then I also have a very soft spot for coach Cavin Johnson, very soft spot.
“Coach Cavin Johnson and I were so close when he was Head of Youth at Platinum Stars, then we spoke daily, I remember one time he called me, I will never forget, he had just called me, hung up the phone, and a few minutes called me again.
“He said ‘Rulani, are you aware I speak to you more on the phone than I speak to my wife’, I remember that, I don’t know if he remembers but I remember him saying that so I have a soft spot, I learnt so much from him, spent so much time with him.
“He’s an incredible human being and someone I always wish well for – so I don’t know if they’ve been unlucky because I haven’t watched with much detail?”
He concluded: “What would be the message to my players? We’re playing a very big team, one of our arch rivals and we’re playing an important game we have to go with humility, respect and that would be the message.”
Chiefs host Sundowns on Thursday evening at the Calabash (19h30).
