Free State Stars boss Jose Valinhos has blamed the tough PSL schedule for his side's failure to beat SuperSport United on Saturday.

'Matsatsansa' won 1-0 courtesy of a 13th minute strike from Ricardo Katza, a result which sees Stars drop to 12th place in the standings.

'Ea Lla Koto' played out to a 1-1 draw with Mpumalanga Black Aces just three days earlier and the former Zimbabwe boss feels that there wasn't sufficient time for his charges to recuperate ahead of the tie at Goble Park.

"We played against Black Aces in our last game and we played very well," he said after the game.

"It has only been three days since that game and maybe that is why we haven't produced a good performance against SuperSport.

"We didn't play badly, but we didn't play well either," he said.