Mngqithi tells Sundowns to do self-introspection

Swallows FC are expected to be the first side to form a guard of honour for DStv champions elect Mamelodi Sundowns who wrapped up the title a couple of days ago against SuperSport United midweek.

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Downs are travelling to the Dobsonville Stadium on Saturday afternoon and while they have a couple of games to play before they receive the trophy, co-head coach Manqoba Mngqithi has told his players to have a self-introspection and reflect on their contribution this season.

“I had a word with the players about how everybody is speaking very highly about how the team has performed, how we have dominated matches, the pass completion rate and all those aspects. I still put a challenge on our players that each and every player has the opportunity to go and introspect on his personal numbers because football is a game of numbers and small margins,” said Mngqithi.

“As an offensive midfielder, how many box entries have you made on average and how many shots at goal did you take in a game, and how many goals did you score. As a defender the same thing applies. How many important duels did you win on the ground and on the air?

“How many attacks have you imitated and in each and every position you must start to look at yourself and into your game so that if the club brings in a new player in your position, you can also say they have got the right to do that because football is always about numbers, it is not about how many back passes you made,” he added.

The Masandawana mentor went on to say he is not particularly obsessed with a player who can help the team keep ball possession, but is looking for one who can actually make an impact and tilt the game towards Sundowns’ advantage.

“Those personal numbers guide us in making decisions, I even made an example like a player like Hlompho Kekana. As a midfielder, he has always averaged about six goals per season and if you are playing in his position and you are not averaging that, it should challenge you as a player. We want people who can influence the game more,” said Mngqithi.