Mamelodi Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi says he told the squad what Clinton Larsen has been capable of in the past against the club.
Larsen won the same competition under a different sponsor, against Sundowns, with Bloemfontein Celtic and once humiliated them in the MTN8.
While he will be leading his team out in Bloemfontein, his squad, Magesi, aren’t exactly of the same calibre, which has Masandawana as overwhelming favourites against the top-flight rookies and tournament debutants.
“I have a lot of respect for coaches who have coached at almost all levels of football, a lot of respect because they are not talking about something they don’t know, they have experienced it,” he said.
“Many people have so much to say but they are so limited to not having experienced coaching in environments that have nothing to support you but expected to bring results.
“Clinton’s journey is as close as possible to mine in football, he coached at almost all levels. LFA football, development football, SAB League, ABC Motsepe League, NFD, all these levels, and when he talks I listen because it’s coming from knowledge and wisdom.
“I have a lot of respect for that – I’m going into a game with a coach is not sitting on his laurels, he’s trying to find the best possible solutions to deal with who everybody thinks is the favourite and he’s always done very well…
“I’ve told the players, they are not playing against any other coach, when he was at Bloemfontein Celtic, he took us out of the MTN8 with five goals, we were too big and thought we didn’t deserve to concede and we went open, the scored, 2, 3, and before we knew it, it was 5-0.
“It’s the same coach that won this trophy, Telkom at the time, against Sundowns, with Celtic, we know the type of coach we’re playing against, usually the most difficult matches, everyone expects you to win.
“It’s the most difficult, when you win it’s by the way – when you lose – it’s a spectacle. I respect Clinton so much as a coach, he knows what it means to beat a favourite.”
The two sides meet today at 18h00 at the Toyota Stadium in the Free State for the Carling Knockout title.
