Klate expects Sundowns to ‘come guns blazing’ after losing league title

Orlando Pirates legend Daine Klate believes Mamelodi Sundowns’ failure to retain the Betway Premiership title will drive them to launch an aggressive challenge for the championship this season.

Sundowns had dominated South African football, winning the league eight times in succession before Orlando Pirates ended that run last season. Pirates claimed the title by a single point after a tense race that was decided on the final day of the campaign.

Despite losing their status as champions, Sundowns still secured the CAF Champions League for a second time. Orlando Pirates, meanwhile, completed a domestic treble during a highly successful season.

Klate believes Sundowns’ defeat in the league could ultimately benefit them by removing any sense of complacency within the squad.

“I definitely expect them to do all they can to win their title back,” Klate told iDiski Times.

Speaking to iDiski Times senior journalist Matshelane Mamabolo in edition 266 of the publication, Klate said Sundowns may have started to regard winning the league as almost automatic after their long period of dominance.

“I think it was good for the league that Pirates dethroned Sundowns because the monopoly was becoming a bit too much. And to some extent, it is good for Sundowns because losing would have rid them of the complacency.

“They’d won the title eight times, and I think they were beginning to think success was guaranteed; now they know they still have to work to win it.

“They will look to get back to winning the league again so they can go into the Champions League as champions of their country. So, I expect Sundowns to come guns blazing; it will make for an exciting championship race.”

The change at the top brought an end to Sundowns’ extended reign as South African champions and gave Pirates their opportunity to reclaim domestic supremacy. The title race remained finely balanced until its conclusion, with the eventual margin separating the two clubs standing at just one point.

Klate expects Sundowns’ desire to regain the Betway Premiership crown to add further intensity to the coming campaign. Their ambition, he believes, will also be shaped by the prospect of entering the CAF Champions League as domestic champions.

While Sundowns continued their continental success by winning the CAF Champions League for a second time, Pirates’ domestic treble ensured that last season belonged to both clubs in different ways. The contrasting achievements have set up another potentially compelling contest between the leading sides in South African football.

Klate’s full interview with Mamabolo is available in edition 266 of iDiski Times. Readers can receive the publication for free by subscribing through the iDiski Times media WhatsApp number.

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