Following their MTN8 Final victory against Kaizer Chiefs, the Urban Warriors must quickly shift focus onto League matters, with two tough fixtures this week against the Brazilians this evening before facing the Glamour Boys again on Saturday.
Despite playing three high-profile Cup and League fixtures in the space of a week, De Sa reveals that he has no special preparations for his squad when facing the division’s biggest clubs.
“Our strategy for the Final was no different to Polokwane or Maritzburg or Wits in the semi-final – we prepared the same way, studied the same videos and do more-or-less the same training sessions,” he told reporters. “That’s the way we do it.
“We can’t put a lot of emphasis on different games: it’s three points every time we play. If you beat Sundowns away, you don’t get six points – you only get three. If we beat Polokwane at home, we still get three.
“So we prepare the same every time, and if it’s working for us – I think we have five wins in a row now – we’ll keep going the same way, and not change anything. It is a tough team we’re coming up against, but we’ll keep it the same.”
Despite obvious elation in lifting the MTN8 trophy, De Sa feels winning the competition comes with added pressure as well.
“There’s no element of surprise now,” he says. “Winning a trophy like the MTN8 and having the success we’ve had so far in a short space of time will motivate our opposition.
“But we have to rise to occasion as well, we have to get better and stronger in every department.
“And now comes the mental aspect: everyone knows we know how to play, but do we have the mental capacity and strength to wipe that out and face the next challenge?
“We can’t be big-headed, but humble and dig deep, and go back to the beginning, to the basics which got us there.”