Mike Makaab, the renowned agent of Orlando Pirates midfielder Sipho Mbule, has commented on the player’s future with his contract set to expire in June.
Mbule joined the Buccaneers at the beginning of the season in a surprising move from Mamelodi Sundowns, following a six-month loan spell at Sekhukhune United.
The 28-year-old made 23 appearances across all competitions, scoring one goal. He started off well and even got a recall to Bafana Bafana, where he was part of Hugo Broos’ AFCON squad.
However, his light at Pirates seemed to fade a bit in the second half of the season, with Mbule missing several matches without explanation from the club or his coach.
While Mbule did not enjoy as much regular game-time as he would have liked, Makaab stated that he respects the Pirates technical team’s selection, adding that the club’s immense success proves the technical bench knew exactly what they were doing.
“With Mbule, one needs to understand that coaches see players in a certain way,” he said during an exclusive interview with iDiski Times.
“You have a look at what Orlando Pirates have achieved this season, the league and two cups.
“They play a certain type of football. It’s up to the coach to decide whether player fits into that type of football or not and a lot of sinister comments have been made around Mbule for a couple of months.
“In a very simple form, one has to respect the technical stuff’s decisions. They have done incredibly well at Pirates, they have a right to decide who they believe who must play to achieve what they want. That’s something we need to respect.”
‘The Club Has An Option’
Asked about whether he is confident that the player would be at Pirates next season, he stated that the club holds an option to extend.
“I can’t even comment on that, the club has an option until the end of May,” he explained.
“And again, I have to respect that. Whatever decision is made, I must respect that.”