Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Rulani Mokwena has reiterated that he will remain at the club for the long term after being asked about his future in Mauritania.
Mokwena penned a new lucrative four-year extension with Sundowns in June last year after winning the DStv Premiership.
This season, he’s added the African Football League (AFL) title to his CV and the style of play has been admired across the continent and beyond.
It has led to question marks over his future ambitions and local media ahead of the clash CAF Champions League clash against Nouadhibou asked whether he desired a move to Europe.
“No I’m very happy here, I’m very happy here [at Sundowns] and I’m here for a very long time, my contract has four years, so for the next four years I’ll be at Sundowns and I’m very happy,” Mokwena said.
With Group A evenly poised, Sundowns and Mazembe are on seven points, while the Mauritanian champions and Pyramids have four each, the fixture will prove to be a crucial one as they look to remain unbeaten at home.
“I think the game is XI vs XI, and when you watch Nouadhibou, even in domestic games, they have done extremely well in the 12 games in the league, winning 10, drawing two and I think scoring 20 goals, conceding only two,” Mokwena said.
“The style of play they can demonstrate on an artificial pitch is something that needs to be admired and if they can play the way they play, they can be successful but we will need to produce the best performance we can under very difficult circumstances.
“We also don’t have it easy but this is what the Champions League is about, it’s about adapting to the environment and dealing with a lot of adversities, we have to show we’ve gained experience in the last couple of seasons as a group. We have to put in a strong performance to beat a very strong Nouadhibou side.”
Sundowns midfielder Sipho Mbule went on to state they they know each game is a must-win at this stage of the competition as they look to progress out of Group A.
“At Sundowns, the mandate is to win, doesn’t matter where we’re playing o how we’re playing, I think us coming to the game tomorrow in Mauritania is to win,” Mbule said.
“It’s not going to be an easy game as coach said, it’s a team doing well at home, they have not lost a match, I think they drew against Mazembe and they beat Pyramids.
