Following Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Rulani Mokwena's emotional comments about the criticism that he has had to deal with, the young tactician has been advised to remain level-headed and focus on his job.
Mokwena struggled to contain his emotions in a post-match press conference following the Brazilians' latest victory, a 1-0 win over Richards Bay FC at the King Zwelithini Stadium on Wednesday.
Speaking to the media, the 36-year-old said he felt he was being targeted by some in the fraternity to look down on his impressive work.
Downs have won all five of their matches in the league so far this season and are at the top of the log with an eight-point gap with closest rivals in SuperSport United and TS Galaxy though both the other teams have played three matches apiece.
Former Sundowns striker, Sandile Ndlovu, has offered advice to Mokwena who is yet to taste a league defeat since taking over as the head coach midway through last season.
The Good
"I won't lie and I can't be jealous of the guy, Rulani's progress as a coach is there for everyone to see. Everything is going well for him and the team and you can see that the players are playing for him and that can only mean that even from training there is togetherness among everyone involved. It is clear to see that the players respond to his tactics and understand his coaching because the results for the team are there for everyone to see. With the chance that he has been given as a young coach to coach a big club like Sundowns, I am one of the people who wish that he can succeed. I wish that he can be one of the top coaches in the country who can also be recognised internationally. I wish he can go and coach overseas if an opportunity presents itself in future because he's got the potential. He's got the potential to even go on and coach the national team (Bafana Bafana). But for now, he should take things step by step and not tell himself that he is a big coach even if he wins the league this season," said Ndlovu.
The Bad
"Rulani is a good coach and that can't be disputed but somewhere somehow, I do feel that there are certain areas of his craft that he needs to work on to further improve. But sometimes as a person you need to understand that you cannot always be right. For example, you can't have 10 people saying the same thing about you and be adamant that you are the one that is right and not them," he said.
The Ugly
"As much as things are going well for him and having luck on his side as the team is winning matches, Rulani will need to understand that he still has a long way to go in coaching. This is his first season as the head coach of Sundowns on his own from the beginning and he had previously been there as the coach at Pirates and things didn't go well for him. He was once the coach of Chippa United and things didn't go well for him too. For the majority of time at Sundowns he had been under the umbrella of other coaches and I'm talking about Pitso (Mosimane), Manqoba Mngqiti and Steve Komphela. Those are the experienced coaches and he too needs to gain experience now that he has been given a chance to coach on his own. For me, he tends to be overexcited at times. Yes, you can be excited as a coach when things are going well for you and your team but to me he tends to overdo it. As a coach, you always look forward to the next game and you can't be excited for a long time. I'm not saying he shouldn't celebrate his victories and achievements but it shouldn't be exaggerated," concluded Ndlovu.
Will Mokwena lead Downs to another title defence?
