Mamelodi Sundowns co-Head Coach Manqoba Mngqithi says that Hlompho Kekana has a major role to play at the club this season, but they need to manage him correctly.
While the 35-year-old did start in Sundowns’ last game, he has also been played off the bench a few times this season, but Mngqithi says people shouldn’t read too much into it.
“He is a machine and he works very hard,” Mngqithi told the media.
“Others are looking at him, those who are not playing at the moment. They think maybe he reached his sell-by date.”
“But we know what we are doing. We are trying to freshen him up because we know at a certain point in the league he is going to be very important for us.”
Kekana has been a constant figure in the Sundowns line-up for many years, and with another full calendar this season, Mngqithi says they need to manage him correctly.
“When that time comes, he must be very fresh because if you check in the past few seasons, he has been playing almost all the matches. At the moment, when you look at him in training, he is beginning to come back to the level that we all know and one is just hopeful that come December and January, the skipper is as fresh as anyone would imagine.”
“And from there he would have to take over his leadership and lead the team forward.”
“I have no doubt in my mind that he’s got the capacity to take us to the next level but we are managing it the right way, it may be shrewd from someone who is looking at it from outside, but rest assured, at the end of the day, everybody will celebrate what we are trying to do because the boy is a helluva good professional.”
