Johannesburg — Ronwen Williams is in tune with the task of playing in the CAF Champions League, as that was one of his primary focuses when he joined Mamelodi Sundowns.
Williams joined Sundowns during the close season, ending a long stay with rivals SuperSport United where he had played since a youth player.
The 31-year-old has adapted seamlessly at his new club, ascending as the club’s No 1 where he has kept 16 clean sheets in 22 matches across all competitions.
And 14 of those clean sheets were from 19 games in the Premiership as Sundowns put day and night between them and the chasing pack as they lead by 23 points at the top of the standings.
But Williams doesn’t want to take sole credit for their impressive defensive record as he has conceded just six goals, saying that it has been a collective effort.
“It’s not about me, but it’s about the team. Funny enough, before we play, you find someone like Cassius (Mailula) saying ‘clean sheet today,’” Williams said.
“And that’s just the mentality that we’ve got as a team. Everyone celebrates a clean sheet like we’ve scored a goal as well. Clean sheets are also important.
“It’s also like one foot in three points already. So, it’s just for us to continue and take the mentality that we have into the Champions League as well.”
Williams admitted the “Champions League is a different ball”, so how ready is he for the challenge given the fact that this will be his first ever experience?
“Before I signed, the club let me know how serious this competition is and their targets as a club. I knew what I was coming into,” Williams said.
“As a team, we want to be part of the bigger tournaments: the Champions League, Club World Cup, and so forth. That’s where we see ourselves as well.”
Williams is expected to get a taste of Champions League football on Saturday when Sundowns open their group stage campaign against Al Hilal at Loftus.
Last season’s quarter-final exit was seen as a failure by the club, considering the resources that had put into the team.
A lot has changed since then though. So much so that Rhulani Mokwena is solely running the show after Manqoba Mngqithi’s demotion as a co-coach.
After winning the African title as his predecessor's, Pitso Mosimane’s, assistant in 2016, is Mokwena under pressure to end their six-year drought in the Champions League?
“Debut in the Champions League? Fortunately, I was part of this magnificent club when we won it. And I gained a lot of experience,” Mokwena said.
“We want to do better than we’ve done in the last few years. We want to win the Champions League, but we have to work very hard for that to happen.
“It might not happen this season, but, of course, we want to win it this season. We are here for the long term. You can see the steps we’ve taken.”
The Brazilians will have to send out a strong message of wanting to win the African crown against Al Hilal. And Mokwena has said they have done their due diligence.
IOL Sport