OPINION: You should have played Mhango, Pirates!

A friend on mine from high school would always say, akekho umuntu ozalwa nesidina, uzakhela yena ngezenzo zakhe – this means no one is born with haters, you create them for yourself sometimes. 

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This proved itself correct again with Mandla Ncikazi and Fadlu Davids, the co-coaches of Orlando Pirates. They were coming along fine, and the supporters were understanding that the job may be bigger than them but they are doing their best and things look promising. 

That was until Gabadinho Mhango did the wonders he did at Afcon and Ncikazi’s unfortunate response to a question about his chances to play at Pirates. 

The duo have refused to play the Malawian, saying he needs to show in training that he wants to play. They recently claimed that he has off-the-field problems, and blah blah blah. 

But I just think it is pure arrogance from them. I believe Mhango would have scored in the derby. He is a player for big games and rises to the occasion most of the time. 

He would also have scored at least twice against Cape Town City in a league game and against Marumo Gallants in the Nedbank Cup this week. But he was not even on the bench for all those games. 

The recent results have come at a price for the two coaches – the fans now want them out. And knowing the two of them and having witnessed their growth in coaching, one feels bad when he reads some of the things written about them. 

But I think they are big enough to take it on the chin, I guess it comes with their job. Tactically and technically, they are both good coaches. However, they seem to lack the main ingredient that makes a successful coach in South African football – man-management skills. 

They don’t seem fair in their treatment of the players. Mhango did well at Afcon and they said that does not guarantee him a place in the team because he has to earn it. Thembinkosi Lorch recovers from injury and jumps straight into the team. He has bad games consecutively but keeps his place and I guess he will be in the team until he regains his form. 

I am disappointed in them because they played at the highest level with various players and they know that some players are wild by nature while some will be more mature in their manner. 

A coach needs to know how to handle each set of players. They come short on this, and until they get it right, they are unlikely to win anything. 

Pirates play the kind of football that South Africans want to watch, but it is not working for them because it doesn’t bear the fruit. The kind of football the team is playing needs an experienced and ‘clever’ striker like Mhango to put the cherry on top. 

Kwame Peprah is a good prospect, so are Zakhele Lepasa and Tshegofatso Mabasa. But Mhango brings something different – experience and the kind of self-belief that borders on arrogance which is needed in a striker sometimes. 

When they lost to Gallants this week, I was reminded of a scene from one of my favourite movies, Rat Race where the duo of Vera Baker and Merril (played by Whoopi Goldberg and Lonei Chapman) ask for directions from a lady who sells squirrels by the roadside. 

The lady keeps trying to sell them a squirrel and they arrogantly tell her they don’t need the damned animal and just want directions. The lady obliges. 

But the directions she gave are wrong and as their car rolls downhill, they come across signs that read: You Should Have Bought A Squirrel.

So, I thought of Ncikazi and Davids: You Should Have Played Mhango!