Magesi FC head coach Clinton Larsen says his side is “prepared to suffer” in their upcoming Carling Knockout final against Mamelodi Sundowns on Saturday.
The Limpopo-based side, who gained automatic promotion to the Betway Premiership after winning the Motsepe Championship last season, shocked South African football by defeating Orlando Pirates, TS Galaxy, and Richard Bay FC on their way to the final.
Sundowns, on the other hand, defeated Kaizer Chiefs, Golden Arrows, and Marumo Gallants to reach the final, scoring an impressive total of 11 goals along the way.
They are looking add the Carling Knock-out title to their already impressive trophy cabinet and are huge favourites to win the match.
"We are prepared to suffer."
Ahead of the #CarlingKnockout final, Magesi's coach Clinton Larsen says his team understands the gulf in quality, but they are going for it.#SSDiski pic.twitter.com/s1aweueCRF
However, Larsen, despite going to the encounter as underdogs, still believes that his side could make history by winning the title come Saturday night
“But one thing I always believe is that as long we prepared to outwork them and bring a fighting spirit that they don’t have we have got a chance to win this game,” Larsen said at a press conference ahead of the final.
The former Golden Arrows coach added that he has informed his players about the challenging task ahead, stating they are prepared to suffer to achieve their goal.
“That tells you what a difficult task lies ahead for us .I just reminded the players of what a difficult game it’s going to be. Coaches like to use this word when they play against Sundowns - ‘suffer’ - you’ve go to suffer if you want some success.
“And that’s exactly what’s going to happen to us, we’ll suffer but we are prepared to suffer. You know this amazing Sundowns team in the first game beat Arrows 5-0, followed that up with a 4-0 win over Kaizer Chiefs and a 2-0 win against Marumo Gallants.
“That tells you what a quality outfit we will be up against, you know against a team that’s been scrapping victories, so the gap is there for all to see.”
IOL Sport