Africa-Press – South-Africa. Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rhulani Mokwena said that he had a responsibility to protect the club and his players, after a 1-1 draw with Stellenbosch FC in the DStv Premiership ended a 15-match winning streak for the Brazilians on Sunday.
The past seven days had been a testing period for Mamelodi Sundowns as off-field matters distracted the South African football fraternity from the club’s near-perfect 2022/23 season.
According to a TimesLIVE report last week, star midfielders Sipho Mbule and Andile Jali were the players identified to have pitched up at Chloorkop for training under the influence of alcohol.
KickOff also suggested that the head coach, Mokwena, had an altercation with an unnamed first-team player before their 2-2 CAF Champions League result against Al Ahly that took place on the weekend before last.
Furthermore, according to KickOff, an unnamed Sundowns player, who the club has since sidelined, had allegedly tested positive for an illegal substance.
Following the draw at Stellenbosch, the 36-year-old Mokwena was once again pushed into a corner to comment on the reports about Mbule and Jali.
“So, what I said in the last press conference, I said, if you’re looking for negatives about my players, you won’t find [it from me],” Mokwena said after the match.
“I have two responsibilities: The first responsibility I have for the club, to protect Mamelodi Sundowns. Number one.
“Number two, I have to protect my players. I have that, and those are two very important responsibilities.”
Reporters had previously quizzed Mokwena about Mbule and Jali after Downs’ 3-1 win against Marumo Gallants on Thursday last week, but he then only offered a minimal response, saying: “I’ll never speak negative about my players. Never, ever, ever. So I’ve got no comment on that.”
Both players had not featured for Sundowns in over a month until Mbule was given playing time against Stellies on Sunday, while veteran Jali was not part of the match-day squad.
“What I will say – and I will say this in a coach-less situation – before I’m a coach, I’m a human being. And before they are players, they are human beings,” Mokwena continued on Sunday.
“We have to be very, very careful sometimes not to go in the side where we affect the person only because we are targeting the professional. It’s very important.
“I don’t want to go into too much detail because, at the end of the day, things that happened in the club are for the football club to deal with.
“There are so many internal things that happen at every single football club. It becomes very important for the football club to protect not just the professionals, including myself, but also the human being.
“Because, like in corporates and like in every other job, no one’s perfect and so that imperfection must come with the acceptance that people will have my back.
“And people will have [had my back] in my moments where I act as a human being, where I have more weaknesses than strengths. I have more mistakes than good moments.
“In those moments, I have to know. And that’s where I am: I am there for the players. But it will never be at the expense of the football club, no chance.”
Despite the off-field distractions, the Brazilians maintain a healthy 17-point lead at the top of the DStv Premiership standings, have progressed to the Nedbank Cup quarter-finals, and are in a great position to advance to the CAF Champions League quarter-finals from a tricky Group B.
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