Orlando Pirates legend Thabo Mngomeni against Eric Tinkler sacking
Retired midfielder Thabo Mngomeni believes strengthening Eric Tinkler's technical team would better address Orlando Pirates' concerns than firing the Bucs head coach.
Tinkler's job at Pirates is not safe with opinion divided on whether he should be retained for next season, with some calling for a foreigner to replace the ex-Bafana Bafana international.Mngomeni, however, feels otherwise and goes on to question the commitment of Tinkler's players.
“For me when teams like Pirates, (Kaizer) Chiefs and (Mamelodi) Sundowns are not doing well I don’t like pointing the blame on the coach because those are teams that normally have the best players in the country. The kind of players that should naturally be able to rectify any situations themselves without having to look so much at the coach,” he argues.
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| Thabo Mngomeni against Eric Tinkler sacking |
“On the other hand I will always support a local coach because I have a problem with the confusion that foreign coaches bring here... We are making noise about Holland right now, but when last did the Dutch win the World Cup or even win anything?
“I know that because of the pressure from supporters the chairman might end up firing Tinkler. However, if he (Dr Irvin Khoza) was firm in his beliefs I would have kept Tinkler and try and rope in some people that are going to be more helpful to him. I think Tinkler is alone, I don’t think the people that are around him are helping him in anyway. Maybe they are just agreeing to all that he says, these are just my thoughts. If former Pirates players could be brought closer to the club I think it would help in getting the players pumped up because they will talking to someone that they saw playing and saw someone who has been part of this institution. I think players would take advice from a former player that they saw playing at the same club in a different way than when told by a complete stranger,” he reasons.
Mngomeni feels players are treated with kid gloves which is why they can underperform and relax knowing it is the coach who will take the blame.
“I think players nowadays are big-headed and not humble enough to play the way they should. This past season, were the players consistent? Should we blame the coach? Of late I have questions about whether everyone at Pirates deserves to be there. It is as if we just sign any player that does well against us. What was supposed to happen is that even if I am a bad player I am supposed to up my game the moment I get to Pirates. You should feel pumped up as a player the moment you get to Pirates. At Pirates we have way too many players and I don’t know how the squad mixes. I want to suspect there are groups which leads to us not doing well.
“There was a bit of more passion with our generation which I think is lacking a bit now with this generation. There is no consistency from the players and the problem is that when players miss chances we are quick to blame the coach. How can you create so many chances and the blame still be with the coach for not scoring those chances? That is why I don’t blame the coach but rather the players straight. I would like to know who says certain players must be bought at Pirates. Who says such a player should be bought? I would really love to know who does that job? I would want to believe that the coach plays a huge role in the recruitment of players because these are players that will work with him,” says Mngomeni, who played for Bucs at the turn of the new millennium.
Mngomeni arrived at Pirates midway through the 1998-99 season and was at the club when it won the 2000 BP Top 8 and 2000-01 league title.
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