Mamelodi Sundowns defender Mosa Lebusa says coach Manqoba Mngqithi will take the squad to greater heights this season.
Sundowns parted ways with head coach Rulani Mokwena after securing a Premier Soccer League record points haul to win the league, with their only defeat coming on the final day of the season, while winning the inaugural African Football League.
But missing out on the MTN8, Carling Knockout, Nedbank Cup and CAF Champions League, added to ‘not scoring enough’ was said to have ended his stint as the leader of the ambitious Brazilians.
There were always statements within the squad of Mokwena being an ‘intense’ leader and very hands-on within the squad as he strived for perfection in his work – while producing some enterprising football over his two seasons as head coach.
“I mean with Coach Rulani we had a different relationship with him as players, and he was a good coach, he was like a brother to us, but in football coaches come and go, players come and go but the club remains,” Lebusa said when asked by iDiski Times about the changes in camp since Mokwena’s exit.
“So we’re here at Sundowns, we have a new leader in Coach Manqoba, and when he first took over we didn’t really change much, but we added a few things into our game model and so far it’s been working, even in our pre-season.
“You will see from our results and how potent we are and as we go forward, not to take anything from coach Rulani, he did an amazing job with the team, we will always have respect for him but right now I think Coach Manqoba is in charge, we support him fully and I think he will take the team to greater heights.”
Sundowns open up their 2024/25 season under Mngqithi on Sunday against Polokwane City in the MTN8 at the Lucas Masterpieces Moripe Stadium (15h00).
