Manqoba Mngqithi says his job is to improve Mamelodi Sundowns and not make wholesale changes to a well-oiled machine.
Mngqithi took over from Rulani Mokwena this season, having worked on the coaching staff at Sundowns for the past 10 years.
He has overseen a perfect start to their season in the Betway Premiership, with three wins from three, including Saturday’s 2-1 victory away to Kaizer Chiefs.
The Brazilians found themselves a goal down to a Ranga Chivaviro effort on nine minutes but were back in the tie when Lucas Ribeiro Costa levelled with 31 minutes on the clock.
Iqraam Rayners then netted a 37th-minute winner to see his side end the evening on top of the league standings with nine points.
When asked if he was happy with the progress of his side, Mngqithi insisted he had only tweaked a few things.
He said on iDiski Times: “I think it was ignorance from the beginning that we have changed anything because I think we added, we did not change anything.
“Sometimes, in a society where people jump to conclusions before they even ask, you end up having situations where people think there is something that has happened and yet there is nothing.
“Because the truth was, we wanted to improve the speed of play because we were a team that was not strong on transitions, we were a team that was not strong on break attacks, we were a team that did not have maximum width, and we had to improve those aspects because they are fundamentally important to the success of any football club.
“Because our society has a lot of people that jump to conclusions and they don’t even bother to ask so that they have an answer, they immediately use their pen and paper to write whatever they like, I don’t even think I’m vindicated because I’ve never changed anything.
“I’ve been in this institution for many years, and I know what has gone right and what has gone wrong, and I know areas that need to be improved. And I also commend the good work that my predecessor did, because there was a lot of work that Rulani did which is good and it’s helping the same club.
“If I was stupid or ignorant or having low self-esteem, then I would go in the direction of wanting to change and bringing my own things, but I never had that mind, and it was baffling to hear people talking the way they talked.”