Mamelodi Sundowns assistant coach Manqoba Mngqithi doesn’t care that people are claiming that he is a coward to be solo, saying “people can say what they like and it won’t change my thoughts.”
Steve Komphela, who was one of the three coaches at Sundowns in 2020 before the Tshwane giants opted for Rulani Mokwena as the solo head coach in October last year, left to join Moroka Swallows before this season got underway.
Questions have been asked about Mngqithi being so comfortable at Sundowns, who according to sources, is wanted by Kaizer Chiefs which is allegedly the reason why the Soweto giants just shuffled things in the technical area instead of bringing in someone new.
Mngqithi’s contract with Sundowns, who he joined just before the end of the 2013/14 season, will expire at the end of this season.
They are awash talks that Mokwena wants to take a different direction with Mngqithi, assembling his own technical team that he trusts from next season.
“Your question is full!” replied Mngqithi at the press conference of the MTN8 at the rooftop in Umhlanga, Durban on Thursday.
“But all I can say first, is we are living in a world where there is freedom of expression and everyone has the right to say what they want.
“Because of luck, we are also conveniently placed in positions where we purposefully forget what we like to forget and remember what we like to remember.
“If you remember very well, I was one of the youngest coaches in the league and only one team at that time in KZN (in the DStv Premiership), it was Golden Arrows.
“All the clubs were coached by more experienced coaches who thought they were better than me then, but they were relegated.
“But I was able to hold Golden Arrows right through until I left the club. So when I’m in this stage of my career people think I’m scared to leave, I’m in the comfort zone and all that, it is fine for someone who thinks what they think.
“When you are a coach and you want to be successful as a coach, it is important to have thick skin. Because if you listen to what everybody else says about you, you might go off the rails.
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“Because most of the time – maybe it is advice to you as well – most of the time popular decisions are the wrong decisions. When people say ‘do this’, you must sit back and think about what they want to see.
“At times what sounds so popular or interesting, it is so wrong. So to me as a human being, I use my brains, I don’t use my bushes and I’m sure it is one of my strengths as a human being.
“I look at everything from all angles and make my decision when the time is right. When I make that decision (to leave Sundowns), I’ll not be expecting people to clap their hands because it will be my decision.”
Despite question marks about Mngqithi being comfortable at Sundowns, he holds the record in the MTN8 as he led Arrows to the biggest win in this competition’s history and PSL era when Arrows crushed Ajax Cape Town 6-0 (Cape Town Spurs) in the 2009/10 season.
