Three weeks after publicly revealing that his Mamelodi Sundowns contract was "80 % done", coach Pitso Mosimane gave reasons at the weekend why there has not yet been a formal announcement with regards to his future.
His current arrangement at Chloorkop will run out at the end of the season, but 'Jingles' said both sides were still eager to find common ground – but did leave the door open for a possible separation!
"It is still where it is. It's principle, not money, trust me. It's important that Sundowns is happy and it's important that I am happy. I can guaranteed that it's not money, but principle – you can ask them," Mosimane told reporters.
"There are things that are important to me. I need to leave a legacy for my children. I don't want my children to say 'he was a good coach at Sundowns' and it ends there. There must be things that I do for my children that they will look back at and say 'these things are still ongoing even if he is no longer here'. Those are the important things to me, and if Sundowns grants me those things, we are almost there. I like Sundowns, I want to stay, I love the team and I want to stay, I have built the team. But these things must go both ways."
Mosimane acknowledged that Sundowns can easily replace him with someone with a much bigger profile on the international stage.
"They are at a bigger stage and they can get a better coach with all their resources. The team is big – they had (Johan) Neeskens and (Hristo) Stoichkov from Barcelona here. I won't fool myself and think otherwise. I know they can get a bigger and better coach. I respect that. But they can look at it differently this side," explained Mosimane.
"Do they want to test locally if they have made any contribution here? African football is complex. Maybe you can give (Jose) Mourinho a team in Africa and let's see. Africa is not Europe. But you must ask on the other side as well – so that you have a balance, it's only fair."
