Manqoba Mngqithi has broken silence on his Mamelodi Sundowns abrupt exit having been sacked on Tuesday due to poor results.
Since taking over from Rulani Mokwena at the start of the season, Sundowns have struggled to find their form.
The team was eliminated from the MTN8 semi-finals by Stellenbosch FC and suffered a shocking defeat to newly-promoted Magesi FC in the Carling Knockout Cup final.
Domestically, Sundowns have also faced setbacks, losing to Polokwane City in the league.
Their start to the CAF Champions League group stage was equally underwhelming, with two consecutive draws.
Mngqithi says he isn’t surprised that he’s now the “former Sundowns coach” considering that he’s been in football industry for quite some time.
He expressed his gratitude to the club for having granted him an opportunity to spearhead the team and working at Chloorkop for 12 years.
MNGQITHI GRATEFUL TO SUNDOWNS
“In my football career I’ve been in this merry-go-around of being a head coach, in-and-out, but I want to be grateful for what Sundowns has done for me over the years,” he told Robert Marawa on Radio947.
“I don’t want to be that kind of a guy when the relationship comes to an end to be overly negative because I would not have been at Sundowns for all those years – I’ve been there for many years and I’ve enjoyed my time, I’ve won countless trophies, and I enjoyed every moment that had at the club with different coaches.
“Even in my time now, I had an exciting technical team and I think they did their best. I’m sitting here very proud, I know I did my best and I cannot complain and not say ‘maybe I should’ve, I could’ve’.
“Because of the games I lost, the cup matches, I still believe the Stellenbosch matches were a sour point, because that’s where I didn’t perform very well. That was still in the inception stages of my time.
“But from there every match we played we gave it our best shot, and even those we did not win, I still win we deserved to win with good margins.
“The last one, was one of the most difficult matches this season and not many are giving credit to the opposition but I think we will be in for a surprise if we think ASFAR will be a push-over in the Champions League.
“To be honest now I’m just enjoying the moment to be off this pressure cooker that I’ve been in for the last 11 years.”
