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Mokwena not lifting lid on Pirates and Chippa ‘failures’
‘I can defend myself for the results at Pirates but I never did,’ says Mokwena.
Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Rulani Mokwena remains coy about his stint at Chippa and Pirates. Picture: Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images.
Rulani Mokwena has gone 14 DStv Premiership games without defeat since he was appointed solo head coach of Mamelodi Sundowns, and he will look to extend that run on Sunday afternoon when his side take on Swallows FC.
While his record at Downs is excellent , after he guided the side to a sixth straight league title, there is a cloud hanging over Mokwena about his performances as Orlando Pirates and Chippa United head coach, which has always been an elephant in the room when talking about his achievements and shortcomings.
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To this day, he is not keen to talk much about his time with the Buccaneers and Chilli Boys where his records are nothing to boast about as he has been constantly labelled as a failure at the helm of both sides as his record is nothing compared to what he has achieved at Sundowns.
“I can defend myself for the results at Pirates but I never did. People talk about Chippa and Pirates being a failure for me and I laugh at those things. And I can laugh because I have facts. There is a certain narrative that people want to drive and I have to allow people to drive that narrative in the good and bad moments,” said Mokwena.
“The game of football belongs to the players and I stay true to that. Our job as coaches is to support and try to help them with the performances. One thing I know is that the prophet will never be celebrated at home and I have accepted that,” he added.
For some reason, the 36-year-old mentor seems to shy away from the spotlight and does not take kindly to praise, as he always diverts the attention to his players, suggesting that a coach is the “least important” part of the team.
“There is a coach like Gavin Hunt who has done this for many years and I have to do that for a long time as well. I am learning and improving every single day. I watch football in leagues that no one would expect me to watch because I want to get better. There are coaches in this league who have done a lot in many years,” said Mokwena.
