As the club prepares to take part in its first ever Carling Black Label Cup, Mamelodi Sundowns legend Hlompho Kekana says the tournament could work to the advantage of star midfield duo Sipho Mbule and Bongani Zungu.
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So far this season, Zungu and Mbule have seen very little in terms of game-time, despite arriving to much fanfare at the start of the campaign.
Both players arrived at Chloorkop out of shape and in dire need to get their conditioning to the level required at the Brazilians.
But with the DStv Premiership action halted for the next two months, Kekana says the duo can use the Carling Black Label Cup which takes place on 12 November as the ideal platform to gear up who was could be a long season for Sundowns.
"[The tournament] will help a lot, remember this is a tournament that plays immediately after the season took a break and that's something players want to use, just to raise their hands and say, 'we are ready to participate and contribute to the team'," Kekana told journalists at the Carling Black Label Cup press conference.
"Someone like Cassius Mailula will need more time to gel (with) the Mamelodi Sundowns team, its such a very difficult task, but I believe there are so many players that need more game-time. I've seen Bongani Zungu, I've seen Sipho Mbule in patches, so they would want to make use of this tournament to prepare themselves for the longer season that is still coming," he said.
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So far this season, Zungu has made just five appearances for Sundowns since his high-profile move from French Ligue 2 side Amiens, while Mbule has featured on nine occasions.
