The tactician is not pressing the panic buttons just yet despite the bad spell
Mamelodi Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi is not worried by his team’s bad start to the 2024-25 campaign following their elimination from the MTN8 at the semi-final stage.
Sundowns crashed out of the tournament after a 2-0 aggregate loss to Stellenbosch FC with Steve Barker’s men outclassing the Brazilians in the semi-final, in which they recorded identical 1-0 wins across two legs.
Mngqithi and his team have since faced criticism, with some fans even calling for his dismissal after just three competitive matches, but he feels the supporters are overreacting since there was a lot to be happy about their display.
Should Mamelodi Sundowns fans be worried?
“In football there is a time when you play well and there is a time you don’t play well and it is acceptable,” Mngqithi said on Tuesday.
“Sometimes when you are not playing well it is not because of any ulterior motive but it is also important to reprimand as a leader when you feel that somebody is not doing what you are expecting from him.
“It is not the time to press any panic buttons, it is normal for a team to lose matches. It is normal for Sundowns not to arrive in the final of the MTN8 but it is not right, because we deserved to be there.
Manqoba Mngqithi happy with chances created
“The chances we created in both matches in the semi-finals suggest that we could have put ourselves there, but not taking away the good work that Stellenbosch did, because they also created very good opportunities, but I still believe we could have gone through.”
Sundowns needed an own goal to beat Polokwane in the MTN8 quarter-final, before they met their waterloo in the semi-final, and in three matches of competitive football, they are yet to score, adding to the fans’ frustrations.
