Following the reported news about Rulani Mokwena signing a new contract at Mamelodi Sundowns, a former player at the club has commented on the latest developments.
Mokwena has penned a new four-year contract with the Brazilians, according to a report by the SABC.
Along with coaches Steve Komphela and Manqoba Mngqithi, Mokwena led Downs to another successful title defence although the team fell short in attempts for continental glory through their campaign in the CAF Champions League which ended in the semi-finals.
For his achievements, Mokwena was chosen as the DStv Premiership Coach of the Season at the end of the 2022/23 campaign.
Former Sundowns defender Phelelani Mpangase commented on the latest developments at Chloorkop, including reports about the technical team changes that had earlier been bandied about.
The Good
"I think it was a good idea that the contracts of the coaches have been extended and I like hearing about the addition of an assistant goalkeeper coach (Kennedy Mweene). Sundowns have a lot of players and let's say for example the team is going to play in Durban or Cape Town or wherever, the players that get left behind still need to train. When I talk about the players that don't travel, there are goalkeepers there as part of them. Obviously, the goalkeeper coach travels with the team to camp and you need someone capable to train the remaining players for that position. Injuries do happen and what if the first choice goalkeeper gets injured while in camp? The reserve goalkeeper will have to play and the third goalkeeper who was left behind will have to travel and join the team in camp and he will have to be ready when he gets there. I believe that we will see a lot of improvement from all the goalkeepers after this change," said Mngqithi.
The Bad
On Reports That Mokwena Wanted Technical Team Reshuffle
"I think if those reports were true which suggested that he wanted to change the technical team, that's something that a lot of teams tried to do even overseas and it didn't work. It would have been wrong of him to do that. First of all, Manqoba Mngqithi has been there for a very long time. In more than nine years that he has been with the team, he's got a lot of information about the club. Steve Komphela is also very knowledgeable and experienced. Rulani is still a young coach and I think he needs these two other coaches to assist him. The other coaches are there to support him and that's good for the club," the coach said.
The Ugly
"Manqoba Mngqithi was a co-head coach with him (Mokwena) and he never said anything when he was removed from the position. Instead, he managed to work with Rulani and Komphela. I think what Rulani needs is to be as humble and try to acquire as much information as possible from the two experienced coaches. He can even learn from the other coaches from elsewhere because as a coach you need to get information from everyone. If he had planned on changing the technical team, I think what he was doing was absolutely wrong," he added.
Advice To Mokwena
"I am very happy for the fact he is keeping the technical team and the club is doing something great by keeping the two experienced coaches. All those coaches have got a lot to offer and they need to be protected. It should be a collective. I mean, when Rulani was at Orlando Pirates and got the opportunity to be the head coach, things didn't go well for him and the team. My advice is that he shouldn't be too eager to be a head coach and try to remove everyone from working closer to him. Manqoba worked with Khabo Zondo for a long time and he got information from him until he managed to be on his own," concluded Mpangase.
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