Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Sipho Mbule has opened up on his relationship with head coach Rulani Mokwena and revealed how the coach gets the best out of him.
Mbule, 25, joined Masandawana ahead of the 2022/23 campaign from SuperSport United and made 29 appearances across all competitions.
However, earlier in the year there were reports in local media alleging that Mbule, along with Andile Jali arrived at training under the influence of alcohol.
Mokwena had always defended his players in public, saying any human, whether football player or not, can make mistakes, and while Jali didn’t return to the squad and his departure has been confirmed, Mbule became a regular feature in the coach’s preferred line-up.
He’s now opened up on his relationship with Mokwena recently, revealing the young coach believes in him like not many other people have done before.
“You don’t find a lot of people, who believe in you – like for me, I don’t find a lot of people who believe in me like the way he [Mokwena] does,” he told Robert Marawa on MSW.
“I know every time I do something wrong, I know I’m gonna get something from him. He’s either going to tell me that I can do better than this or why couldn’t you have done this and that.
“He pushes me every day and makes me realise how good I am. Sometimes, even me I’m not aware of the things that I can do.
“But with the work that he’s doing, with the corrections that he’s doing and everything, he will just call you in the evening and say ‘did you watch this game, this happened and that happened’ and then it will be up to you [as player], whether you listen to him or you take it on the other side.
“But for me, I’ve been listening to him and I’ve been getting the advice from him.”
When asked to give a one-word answer whether fans have seen the best of Sipho Mbule yet, he calmly stated: “no”.
Mbule was part of Sundowns’ team that won the DStv Premiership in record-breaking manner, with seven games to spare.
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However, they couldn’t add any other trophy after being knocked out in the MTN8 semi-final by Orlando Pirates, which sparked their famous reshuffle in the technical team, and lost in the Nedbank Cup quarter-final to Stellenbosch FC.
They had a brilliant and unbeaten run in the CAF Champions League, but failed to qualify for their first final since 2016 after being eliminated by defending champions Wydad Athletic Club on the away-goal rule.
