Mngqithi not panicking over Sundowns’ disappointing start to the season

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi is not pressing any panic buttons yet, despite being booted out of the MTN8 Cup by Stellenbosch FC.

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The Brazilians were just not at the races against a more organised and spirited Stellies side, that recorded back to back wins in the two-legged semifinal.

The shock defeat to Stellenbosch has raised alarms among Sundowns supporters, but Mngqithi remained unperturbed as he addressed the media at Moses Mabhida Stadium.

“To be honest, I saw an improvement from the match we played against Stellenbosch in midweek, but it’s just unfortunate that it does not translate into goals and you always feel like it was very bad,” Mngqithi remarked.

“But the truth is, if you look at the chances we created in both legs, the story could have been different. I must also give credit to Stellenbosch because in the first leg, I think they were a little bit hungrier than us. We only came back stronger in the latter part of the match where we could have salvaged something and probably even won the game.

“I’m not panicking because we struggle sometimes at this stage and it’s worse because most of your key players are the ones that are not hitting top gear, but we are hoping that we will come back stronger.”

The experienced coach has come under more scrutiny for his side’s slow and unconvincing start to the season. Mngqithi replaced Rulani Mokwena, who left the club and is now head coach at Wydad Casablanca.

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‘Everyone has got an opinion’

“The uniqueness of this country makes you accept that everyone has got an opinion and sometimes regardless of where it comes from, it may be the best opinion,” he added.

“I don’t think there’s any train smash at Sundowns and it’s only normal sometimes not to score. If you look at all the games that we’ve played and you look at possession and most of the numbers, they will tell you that we are just a goal away from getting a result.”