Andile Jali with Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane.
Jali decided against joining his old club and signed for Absa Premiership Champions Sundowns.
Mngomeni says Jali owes Pirates fans an explanation.
“Yes, the fans will be unhappy, there is no doubt about that, but they will understand in the long run that football is a job these days, but Jali must also tell the supporters why he decided to dump Pirates,” Mngomeni told Goal.
“There is no player without the supporters in the end and they also have to respect his decision because there is money involved – what we must do is to wish him all the best at Sundowns.”
“In my view, it remains a personal decision for Jali and we really don’t know what was on his mind,” said Mngomeni.
“We all know Sundowns is one of the best clubs in the league and in the continent and he might have wanted to fight and compete against the best,” said Mngomeni.
“I am not saying Pirates is not, but we know Pirates players are mostly coming from the so-called small teams and Sundowns is the best when it comes to recruiting,” he added.
“I don’t think he will be happy to be benched because Sundowns have the likes of Manyisa, Hlompho (Kekana), (Tiyani) Mabunda and others, but then it’s up to him to challenge himself and fight for a place,” noted the legend.
“Having said that, I think he has done his own homework on how things are at Sundowns and at Pirates, he will have to fight and some players do well when they face such challenges,” said the ex-Bafana Bafana player.
“Let’s just see how he reacts and behaves under such circumstances because it will not be easy, he will not just walk into the starting XI at Sundowns,” reacted Mngomeni.
“I’m saying that if he fails to get a jersey after four months, he must forget, but he is a great player and is capable of challenging at Sundowns,” he acknowledged.
