Manqoba Mngqithi, Head coach of Mamelodi Sundowns instructs his captain Themba Zwane during the Betway Premiership match during the week. | BackpagePix
DURING press conferences over the past few days, Manqoba Mngqithi struck a tone of voice that suggests he is dealing with undue stress during his tenure as Mamelodi Sundowns’ head coach.
“I am a big boy, and if I don’t do well, I know what is most likely to happen to me,” he declared. On another occasion, he said: “That’s one thing they must know. All these players are my kids, I’m old enough to be their father. If I decide to punish, I will punish.”
These comments suggest that Mngqithi is acutely aware that he needs to produce results which two weeks ago were not forthcoming. The team suffered back-to-back defeats against Stellenbosch. The remark about the need to punish leads one to believe that a player or two may have stepped out of line or challenged his authority.
The media’s line of questioning was prompted by the sight of star players Khuliso Mudau and vice-captain Teboho Mokoena reduced to spectators at the Lucas “Masterpieces” Moripe Stadium in Tuesday evening’s Tshwane Derby against SuperSport United. Another star player, Aubrey Modiba, was on the substitutes’ bench.
As the media looked to understand the coach’s thoughts and motivations for banishing Mudau and Mokoena to the grandstand, Mngqithi made it clear there were no star players in his team. Mngqithi’s answer about “no stars” may have been for those regulars who were not used for the Tshwane Derby.
“I don’t have star players. I have seen many good players messing up their lives,” said Mngqithi. He was referring to leading players who do not always make the best decisions in life, and consequently have a detrimental effect on their careers.
On occasions this week, Mngqithi seemed flustered by the line of questioning, but he tried to assure the media he was in control when he said: “I am a big boy, I have been in football for more than 20 years now.”
At another time he was prompted to remark: “I’m not emotional, that’s one thing they (the players) must know.”
Mngqithi seemed edgy during Thursday’s pre-match presser ahead of today’s CAF Champions League, second preliminary round, second leg clash at the Lucas “Masterpieces” Moripe Stadium. This starkly contrasted with the happy expression shown by defender Thapelo Morena who accompanied Mngqithi at the table.
Halfway through the presser, Mngqithi touched on Morena’s comments which focussed on the need for players in the squad to support each other, whether on the playing field or the substitutes’ bench. Mngqithi said that during their video analysis session on Thursday morning, he spoke to the players about leadership.
“Sound leadership,” he said, meant that players must not “grumble” when they are not chosen to play. He added that players must not be “selfish”, suggesting that Mngqithi needed to raise these two matters, more so because a recent media report spoke about Sundowns’ “sulking” players.
The train of thought is hardly surprising after Mngqithi shared a concern with the media: “Managing the squad of 40 is not easy. I do not want to lie to you. It is not easy. We do not have many options if you consider the number of matches we have to play.”
And while Mngqithi deals with these challenges daily, more and more media reports speculate that Benni McCarthy is in the picture to take over as head honcho at Sundowns.
Meanwhile, reports that McCarthy is headed to the MLS have also intensified.
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