Mamelodi Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi is steadfast and will continue rotating his squad in the build-up to the group stages of the Champions League, where he will need his players fresher. 

Mngqithi’s decision to make wholesale changes for every match has divided Sundowns fans, but he said there is buy in from the players who he is trying to manage so there is no burnout later in the season.

Sundowns begin their group stages campaign with a tricky away trip to little-known Maniema FC from the DRC on November 26, where they will be targeting a winning start. 

In their 2-0 Betway Premiership win over Polokwane City at Loftus on Wednesday, Mngqithi made nine changes to the team that beat Kaizer Chiefs a few days earlier with goalkeeper Ronwen Williams and attacker Peter Shalulile the only players to retain their starting places. 

He is expected to ring more changes when Sundowns take on Marumo Gallants in the Carling Knockout semifinal at the Dr Molemela Stadium in Bloemfontein on Sunday.

“It is not easy to manage a big squad because all the players are looking to play every week,” he said. 

“Some of them probably don’t give a damn that we are trying to rotate them but we want to keep them fresh. Players naturally would want to play every match but when you get buy in from all of them, you will find the senior players who have been here for long understand there is going to be fatigue as tournaments progress. 

“On the new players, it is unusual not to play consistently when you believe you have done very well. The worst is when you have scored, created an opportunity or got a man of the match award and the next match you are not part of the squad. 

“On confusing opposition coaches, for me that is not important but the most important part is how the team that gets an opportunity performs.” 

Mngqithi said he explained to players there will be continuous changes. 

“What is important is to be proactive as a leader and make people aware of the journey you are going to take prior to the journey starting. It is important to make everybody aware of the process, how it is going to happen and the benefits and disadvantages of that. 

“It is also important to make sure everybody understands and you are not shoving it down their throats, but there is an understanding we are trying to make sure we have a fresher squad for longer. 

“Every time when we go towards the quarterfinals stage of the Champions League, we have played more matches, but we are a bit fortunate this time that by December we would have played 10 matches in the league. 

“Normally when we go to the group stages of the Champions League, we are already sitting on 20 matches in the league and at that time if you did not rotate enough you will start to have a lot of injuries, legs are heavy.” 

Sundowns midfielder Neo Maema said it is frustrating but the coach has made them understand workloads must be managed. 

“I would say it is difficult but the coach has made it clear to us that we have a big squad and have many competitions. I have to take instructions from the coach but it is very difficult because you want to keep momentum by playing to get the level you want. 

“But we have many competitions and a lot of players. You need to push and make sure  you show up when you get a chance.”