Manqoba Mngqithi has shared his heartfelt appreciation for his time at Mamelodi Sundowns in the Betway Premiership.
The former head coach of Golden Arrows and AmaZulu was dismissed by the Brazilians this week after a series of surprising results.
Their elimination from the MTN8 semi-finals by Stellenbosch, followed by a loss in the Carling Knockout Cup final to newly-promoted Magesi, and two consecutive draws in the CAF Champions League proved to be the tipping point for the club’s management.
Despite the setback, Mngqithi remains grateful for the privilege of spending over a decade with the team. He is now looking forward to a well-deserved break from football, even as rumors circulate about a possible return to Golden Arrows.
The coach told Radio947: “In my football career I’ve been in this merry-go-around of being a head coach, in-and-out, but I want to be grateful for what Sundowns has done for me over the years.
“I don’t want to be that kind of a guy when the relationship comes to an end to be overly negative because I would not have been at Sundowns for all those years – I’ve been there for many years and I’ve enjoyed my time, I’ve won countless trophies, and I enjoyed every moment that had at the club with different coaches.
“Even in my time now, I had an exciting technical team and I think they did their best. I’m sitting here very proud, I know I did my best and I cannot complain and not say ‘maybe I should’ve, I could’ve’.
“Because of the games I lost, the cup matches, I still believe the Stellenbosch matches were a sour point, because that’s where I didn’t perform very well. That was still in the inception stages of my time.
“But from there every match we played we gave it our best shot, and even those we did not win, I still win we deserved to win with good margins.
“The last one, was one of the most difficult matches this season and not many are giving credit to the opposition but I think we will be in for a surprise if we think AS FAR will be a push-over in the Champions League.
“To be honest now I’m just enjoying the moment to be off this pressure cooker that I’ve been in for the last 11 years.”