Mamelodi Sundowns chairman Tlhopie Motsepe has revealed that the club needed to make a decision to make changes in the coaching department now, rather than wait for things to fall apart.
In a press conference held at Chloorkop on Tuesday afternoon, Motsepe and sporting director Flemming Berg introduced new coach Miguel Cardoso, who has stepped into a big job to replace the departed Manqoba Mngqithi.
READ: Cardoso: I Want To Be Like Pitso, Rulani Komphela
It was a move waiting to happen. It was just about making a decision at the right time and, finally, the call was made to make a change to bring in a fresh face to lead the team.
After Rulani Mokwena left Sundowns, the club decided to give Mngqithi an opportunity to lead the team, giving him a four-year deal with tough mandates of going for the Betway Premiership title and, of course, the CAF Champions League.
Just a few months into the job, however, Mngqithi is now on the market as a free agent, following one of the shortest stints by a coach at the club.
"We are not the type of club that necessarily wants to change all the time and history has proven that. We've kept our coaches for a very long time. It was about the club needing change and we hope that this is going to breathe a lot of new energy and allow us to shift into that new chapter of success," Motsepe said.
Motsepe admitted that the team had not reached the heights expected and they had to make a call before it was too late.
"We must go back to the start of the season. The truth is, we wanted to make sure we gave this coaching team that was led by coach Manqoba and Wendell (Robinson), the opportunity to start the season and see what they could do with the current crop of players," Motsepe said during the press conference.
READ: BREAKING: Sundowns Announce New Coach
"There's a history that they have with the football club and they understood a lot about the team and the players. As I said before, we also have a commitment as family to develop South African and African coaches. When the opportunity came at the start of the season to hire a different coach or to try this project again, we understood what we had and who we were working with and we wanted to give them that chance.
"Subsequently, the season started and, as I mentioned before, the team was not reaching the heights we had hoped and that the board had expected. Rather than let matters deteriorate, we decided let's stop now. They have a wonderful history with the football club already and we decided to make sure the change happens now, so that we can position ourselves, as we close this year, to be in a stronger position looking forward to 2025 and onwards."
By Tshepang Mailwane
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