Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Manqoba Mngqithi has named four local coaches, including Kaizer Chiefs’ Arthur Zwane and Dillon Sheppard, who have impressed him in recent weeks.
The Masandawana coach has been with the DStv Premiership champions since 2014, first as assistant to Pitso Mosimane and later as co-coach alongside Rulani Mokwena.
He made a plea with South African media to give local coaches more time, saying the likes of Zwane, Sheppard as well as Baroka’s Vincent Kobola and Chippa United’s Kurt Lentjies have shown their teams can play the right way of football.
“I think coaches like Arthur and Dillon, Kobola at Baroka, if you look at the change they have made in a very short space of time, it requires that our South African media must also try and be a little bit less pessimistic towards our people,” he told local journalists.
“I think they deserve an opportunity and the support from you guys in the media because I do believe South African coaches are really showing [up].
“Look at Kurt Lentjies at Chippa, what he is doing – the team looks good, Kobola is doing very well and Arthur/Dillon [in a] very short space of time.
“But honestly speaking, I now want to watch matches that are played by these teams because I see a lot of what I can identify with of how South Africa expects football to be played.
“I do believe it is in that way, that we will even improve the quality of football, even in our national team, because if our games are not second ball and set pieces, it’s football and we are giving the chances to our own people, I’m definitely sure can take a very good direction.
“That’s my wish, we must try and be supportive to our people and not always point a gun at our South African coaches, please.”
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