Manqoba Mngqithi the current senior coach at Mamelodi Sundowns could well be on his out the club in a shock move that could see him on the bench at rivals Orlando Pirates. The former Arrows coach was recently demoted from his co-head coach role to that of practically a second assistant role. This was following a string of bad results in October 2022.
His previous experience was Head Coach position at Golden Arrows in two separate spells in 2007 and 2012. In between these spells he was at AmaZulu(2010) and Chippa United(2012).
One of his major honours before joining Sundowns, was winning the MTN 8 Cup with Golden Arrows in 2009 in a memorable win in hammering Ajax Cape Town. While at Mamelodi Sundowns in the role of assistant coach and co-head coach he has been involved in winning nine major trophies which included a CAF Champions league title in 2016.
Fast forward to today where the 51-year old’s contract is up at the end of the season and so far there has not been any indication from Masandawana in wanting him to stay on. Speculation on his future remains in the air, with top PSL clubs circling should he become available.
Mngqithi joined Mamelodi Sundowns as Pitso Mosimane’s number one assistant coach in February 2014 and he has been with the club, since then, for about nine years. When the technical team reshuffle took place following Mosimane’s departure to Al Ahly in 2020, he was always seen as the main coach out of the trio which saw Steve Komphela join Downs at the same time.
To be demoted from the so-called number one position in the co-head coach role to being a senior coach which left him in practical terms, ranked as the third coach in the unique technical structure of the club, could not possibly have not sit well with Mngqithi. Despite his protests to the contrary.
In a nutshell his contract is coming to an end, with no evidence of a new contract on the table. Following the demotion news, the former Arrows coach was heavily linked with a post at AmaZulu before the appointment of Romain Folz.
The facts speak for themselves.
Mngqithi’s contract is up at the end of the season.
Rulani Mokwena the Head Coach has mentioned that there will be even further changes made by the club.
Sundowns have given no clear indication that they will extend his contract. That will be worrying for the coach and his agent.
The current situation at Mayfair is obvious and Pirates will not be prepared to risk a lowly top 8 position. Jose Riveiro is currently skating on thin ice and the Buccaneers hierarchy are not completely convinced by the Spanish coach. It is unlikely that Riveiro will go before the end of the season. But if results do not improve, he may be on his way sooner.
This website has it from sources in the know that approaches have been made to feel out Mngqithi’s thoughts on joining Pirates in time for the new season.
The stumbling block that would play a major role in this move happening or not would be the financial aspect. What we know is that Mamelodi Sundowns pay their coaches well, and if Sundowns do decide to offer Mngqithi a new contract, he would probably accept the offer as it offers security and big money. It is not clear whether Orlando Pirates could compete with his current salary or that they would break the bank to get him, but there is interest and at the moment there is no offer on the table from Sundowns. That may well leave the path clear for Pirates.
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