Former Bafana Bafana and Orlando Pirates defender Lucky Lekgwathi believes that coach Mandla Ncikazi is a good coach for Orlando Pirates.
Speaking to iDiski Times writer Lethabo Kganyago, Lekgwathi said that the support from Dr. Ivan Khoza and management will help Ncikazi to succeed at the club.
After a stellar campaign with Golden Arrows, Ncikazi signed a three-year deal with Pirates, initially to work alongside Fadlu Davids as assistant under then head coach Josef Zinnbauer. However, the German resigned ahead of the season and Pirates’ management have since put Ncikazi and Davids in charge.
“So coach Mandla can come and coach the team, but as long as he doesn’t have those players that can’t gel and win games for him… But I trust Dr Khoza that he’s going to give him support, he’s going to give him advice,” Lekgwathi told iDiski Times.
“It goes back to what I said about players moving from other clubs and joining Pirates, same with him.
“He did well at Golden Arrows, they are an ordinary team, and he comes to Pirates, the expectations of everyone, the supporters, the chairman even myself, I speak as a supporter that the guy must deliver. Pirates is a big team and there is a lot of things you must sacrifice.
“At Arrows if you lose a game, there is no one going to boo you, but at Pirates we are talking about millions of people and when you read comments on social media iyooh! But I’m happy because he is a local coach, and I hope he can do well, and I hope he proves those who doubt him wrong, same as us who people doubted when we arrived at Pirates.”
“That’s why I’m saying the expectations of the supporters, especially Pirates supporters, yeyi, so you must make sure that whatever you do you do it 100%.”
You can read the full interview with Lucky Lekgwathi, where he also talks about the recent looting of his restaurant and why players used to for the badge more in the past, in the week’s iDiski Times news paper.
