Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Marcelo Allende has compared the club’s current head coach, Manqoba Mngqithi, to his predecessor, Rulani Mokwena, who departed the club a few weeks ago.
The 25-year-old shared his thoughts during the club’s media open day ahead of the MTN8 quarterfinal against Polokwane City, scheduled for Sunday, August 11, at Lucas Moripe Stadium at 3 pm.
This will be Mngqithi’s first official match in charge, following Mokwena’s departure to Wydad Casablanca.
Having trained under Mngqithi’s sole leadership for nearly four weeks, Allende believes there is little significant difference between the two coaches' styles.
However, he acknowledges that Mngqithi might have a slightly different approach to ball possession in matches.
MARCELO ALLENDE WHY HE FEELS THERE’S NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MOKWENA AND MNGQITHI
“I think it’s not new because he has been with us for a long time,” the Chilean midfield maestro said.
“Maybe he is now the boss but I think it’s the same; it’s the same players. Of course he has different ideas on ball possession or maybe being more direct but it’s [essentially] the same.
“We are happy. We want to start with a winning game. This is very important for the club and for the confidence of the team.”
Meanwhile, during the same media day, Sundowns defender Mosa Lebusa told reporters that there would be no vulnerability in their play following Mokwena’s exit.
He insisted they would be “more dangerous” under Mngqithi.
WHY LEBUSA FEELS THEY’RE ‘MORE DANGEROUS’ UNDER MNGQITHI
“I don’t think there is any vulnerability in our play and in our team,” said Lebusa.
“He’s [Mngqithi ] been with so many teams, he’s got so much experience and even when he was the assistant coach he was giving us a lot of information.
“So I don’t think what the people are saying that we are more vulnerable now is true, so I don’t think that, I think we are now even more dangerous.”
