Mamelodi Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi says they brought Iqraam Rayners in to add goals to their squad but is wary of throwing in the deep end.
Rayners arrived after Sundowns activated his buy-out close which is said to have been close to R15-million amid interest from Esperance Sportive de Tunis.
Having secured his services last month, he was unable to make his debut against Stellies due to being cup-tied in the MTN8, in which they eliminated Sundowns for a place in the final next month against Orlando Pirates.
Rayners then went to the national team in the FIFA international break that just passed but was used as a substitute in the 2-2 draw against Uganda and 3-2 win over South Sudan.
“I must say he has done really well, he’s played one friendly match with us and he scored already and we’re looking forward to seeing more because the reason why we brought him here is because we believe he’s got goals,” he said about the new signing.
“It’s what we’ve been lacking and we have Peter, who has not scored but we know he has got goals, we have Lucas who has got goals, we have Maseko who has goals, quite a few players, Arthur Sales who can give us something.
“But we’re very excited and Iqraam didn’t get many game minutes during the FIFA break, it might give us a little bit of an edge to use him for this match [against Swallows].”
With Shalulile considered their key striker Sales joining in a lucrative transfer from Belgian club SK Lommel added to the wide forwards like Costa, Thapelo Maseko and Tashreeq Matthews, Sundowns are spoilt for choice in their attacking department this season.
“It’s a little bit of a tough one to be honest [integrating due to cup tie and Bafana call-up] because you don’t want to induce pressure on him,” he added when asked about the challenge it brings.
“It’s very important that we manage the arrival and integration very well, because it can also destabilise our change room, because sometimes we as coaches, we tend to look down on what we had before other players arrived.
“That makes a very big difference and can cause a lot of problems in the change room. I do believe when we bring a player like Iqraam it’s wanting to add on what we have. But it’s not that we want to minus certain individuals in the team.
“It becomes very bad when you have not scored goals and now you want to prioritise making use of particular players at the expense of others. You don’t want to kill anyone, you want people to remain with a belief they have a chance here [at Sundowns].
“Because if you just hand it over to Iqraam without him working hard for it, it may also kill the other players that now start to realise their time at the club is up, so it’s very important that you manage that integration very well and not create unnecessary commotion in the group.”
Rayners will be aiming to make his competitive debut for the club when they face Mbabane Swallows in their first leg CAF Champions League 2nd preliminary round tie on Saturday evening at the Lucas Masterpieces Moripe Stadium (20h00).
