Johannesburg — Sphelele Mkhulise knows it will be hard to keep his place in Mamelodi Sundowns’ starting line-up, and that’s why he is working his socks off.
After being promoted by Pitso Mosimane a few seasons ago, Mkhulise was tipped to be one of the talented gems to come out of the club’s youth ranks.
However, he lost his place in the starting line-up, while injuries didn’t make his life any easier.
The departure of Mosimane to Al Ahly meant that there were changes in the coaching staff, with Rhulani Mokwena and Manqoba Mngqithi taking over.
The duo made changes and new players joined the team, which pushed Mkhulise down in the pecking order as he was demoted to the bench.
On Sunday, Mkhulise got his third start and first goal of the season as the Brazilians thumped La Passe 7-0 in the preliminary qualifiers of the Caf Champions League.
“Pitso” was happy to get back on the score sheet and play the full 90 minutes. But he concedes that it won’t be easy to be a regular in the starting line-up.
“I was happy to score a goal. In order to be a starting player here, I have to listen to the coaches,” Mkhulise said.
“I have to run, score goals, assist and work hard as well. They always tell us to work hard and be focused. When you get a chance, you must be ready.”
After that impressive perfomance against the Seychellois minnows, Mkhulise is expected to start in the second leg at the Loftus tomorrow.
But he has vowed that he won’t rest on his laurels given that players are only as good as their last game.
“As a professional soccer player, you must remain focused and work hard at all times,” said Mkhulise, who won last year’s Cosafa Cup with Bafana Bafana.
“There are a lot of internationals at Sundowns, that’s why you must remain focused at all times. It was hard (being sidelined), but I had to work hard.
“I was not upset when I wasn’t playing because my teammates were doing well and we were winning matches. I just had to support the players.”
Sundowns might be winning games and dominating Souht African football, but they have not been at their best in Africa.
Since their triumph six years ago, the closest Sundowns have come to winning the Champions League title again was in 2018, when they reached the semi-finals.
Last season, they were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Petro de Luanda.
And knowing that they will have to improve in each and every game, Mkhulise says they won’t treat tomorrow's match against La Passe like a dead rubber.
“We want to start the match with the (same) mentality of the last game. We need to focus, especially looking ahead to our next domestic matches,” he said.
“It won’t help to drop pace. We are not looking at the 7-0 win. We need to continue scoring goals, run and work hard as a team in this upcoming match.”
IOL Sport