Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Manqoba Mngqithi FILE - According to reports, Manqoba Mngqithi is set to return to Golden Arrows following his sudden sacking by Mamelodi Sundowns. Photo: Bongani Mbatha/Independent Newspapers
Image: Bongani Mbatha/Independent Newspapers
Former Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Manqoba Mngqithi was in the dark about his sacking before the club made the shock announcement on Tuesday.
The league leaders fired Mngqithi despite the club sitting at the top of the Betway Premiership after a good start to the campaign, and replaced him with former Esperance coach Miguel Cardoso.
Speaking to Robert Marawa on his show MSW on 94.7, Mngqithi said he was unaware that he was about to be fired.
“I would be lying if I said I knew; I just got a message from someone when I was going into a meeting yesterday [Tuesday] with the leadership of the club,” Mngqithi said on the radio show.
“Somebody hinted that there was going to be an announcement. Yesterday, fortunately, we were off, and we had to attend the meeting with the leadership. And that’s when the whole story came out, but fortunately, someone sent me a message and asked if it was true, and then I started to know what this meeting would be about," said the 53-year-old.
However, the coach said he did not hold any grudged over his sudden firing as his promotion to the position happened in much the same way.
"I cannot fault anyone for that because probably when I got the job, someone, somewhere, was still the coach, and the negotiations were going on behind. That’s the name of the game," he said.
Since leaving Sundowns, Mngqithi has been linked with a sensational return to Golden Arrows, who he led to the MTN8 title in 2009.
Mngqithi said he was indebted to the KwaZulu-Natal club, who gave him the opportunity to be the head coach when he was just 38 years old.
“I will always be open to assisting at Golden Arrows in my life because I still feel indebted to that club because that club made me the person that I am they gave me an opportunity in a time when no team in South Africa could take that risk,” Mngqithi said in the interview with Marawa.
“When a team is number 16 on the log and they only have 12 points after 15 matches and then they say we want Manqoba to be the head coach, not even interim coach to become the head coach of the club because we believe he can save us…"
IOL Sport