Cape Town - Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Pitso Mosimane has strongly refuted claims that his relationship with former assistant coach Rulani Mokwena has become strained.

Rumours doing the rounds have suggested that Mosimane is not as responsible for the Brazilians' success as many had thought and that Mokwena deserved more credit.

All this is believed to have taken a toll on their relationship. However, according to the Downs mentor, nothing could be further from the truth.

"I am cool with Rulani. Why not? He's a good boy. I like Rulani," Mosimane told the Daily Sun.

"I know you're asking because of those things of the past. That thing was disturbing. I can show you guys my text exchanges with Bongani Zungu," he added.

The rumours were sparked by a now-deleted tweet by Zungu that heaped praise on Mokwena for his influence on the club.

"He's also a good boy. He thanked me for all the support we gave him and said that I made him a number six and now he is playing in Europe," he said.

"The other things are 'smaller-nyana' issues and they don't last. If you go back and follow, you'll see that I trained the team and picked the team.

"And you know how life is, the results will show, you do not answer back, results will say everything. These are young guys and they must respect me.

"I speak to Rulani, I am good with Rhulani, I am also good with Bongani Zungu, I need to move and show I am a bigger person."