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 dont do well, I know what is most likely to happen to me, he declared. On another occasion, he said: Thats one thing they must know. All these players are my kids, Im 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 medias 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 evenings Tshwane Derby against SuperSport United. Another star player, Aubrey Modiba, was on the substitutes bench.
As the media looked to understand the coachs thoughts and motivations for banishing Mudau and Mokoena to the grandstand, Mngqithi made it clear there were no star players in his team. Mngqithis answer about no stars may have been for those regulars who were not used for the Tshwane Derby.
