Following his side's exit from the Nedbank Cup, Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane claimed the Absa Premiership is more important.
Read: Maritzburg Send Ten-Man Downs Packing To Reach Nedbank Cup Final
Mosimane's men surrendered an early goal to lose 3-1 to Maritzburg United in the Nedbank Cup semi-finals at Harry Gwala Stadium on Sunday, and to add insult to injury, Gaston Sirino was shown a red card midway through the second half.
The Brazilians now shift their focus to the league on Wednesday, where they will face Maritzburg yet again looking to extend their six-point lead atop the table.
Looking towards that encounter, Mosimane emphasised the importance of the league over the Nedbank Cup, although he did admit it was a bitter pill to swallow after getting this far and then leaving with nothing.
"What is important? The league, where you have already played 27 games and to finish on top or the Nedbank cup where you have played four games, what is your priority?" Mosimane told SuperSport TV.
"I'm not saying that because we lost, we want to win, but what is bigger? The league! So we need to try again, we controlled the game in the first half. There was never a problem for us. It is the red card (for Gaston Sirino). That's the way that the referee saw that, so we should accept it.
"Congratulations to them (Maritzburg). They deserve it more than us. They need the cup, we need the league. Not to say we didn't want the cup, we wanted the cup, but you can't get everything.
"You must take whatever is on offer and fight again. We can win on Wednesday.
"We have to change for Wednesday because Anele (Ngcongca) has been kicked out (injured), Gaston (Sirino) has the red card. Then we can get the captain back (Hlompho Kekana) and we will see. Vila (Sibusiso Vilakazi) has a hamstring that has been giving him a hard time, the last two games he could not finish them. I need him for Wednesday, so we had to substitute him today, and I need Percy's legs for Wednesday because we have to be realistic and humble enough to say the game is gone and we have bigger things to go for.
"We have the Champions League, the Nedbank Cup is gone. We tried our best."
