- Downs coach Pitso Mosimane underlines that Ngele faces an uphill task to be a regular starter
- Says he will be going on loan again next season
LETLHOGILE MPUANG
Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane says Zebras attacker Mogakolodi Ngele needs to improve significantly if he has hopes of breaking into his current squad. The former UF Santos and Township Rollers man joined Sundowns in 2015 after a fruitful spell with Platinum Stars. Lack of game time and injuries have seriously hampered his progress at the Pretoria based club and this has seen him taken out on loan a number of occasions, in a bid to revive his form.
He spent half of last season on loan at Supersport United, but indications are that Supersport will not renew his loan deal which expired at the end of last season. Following Downs’ weekend pre season visit to Botswana, which saw them play against BTC Premiership champions Township Rollers, Mosimane made it clear of what ‘Tsotso’ needs to do if he wants to stay at Sundowns.
“He is still our player, he is still struggling to fit in. We have to do what we have to do, probably give him a chance somewhere out, because usually with him it becomes a loan and then another loan. But he must show that he wants to play also,” the former South African national team coach told the media.
He further made it clear that the reason why Ngele was not playing had nothing to do with the fact that he is a foreigner which has often been believed to be the reason here locally. “No, it has nothing to do with him being a foreigner,”continued Mosimane.
“He is a player, and we don’t focus on whether he is a foreigner, he is one of us, we must find ways to help him, but also he must also help himself. It goes both ways, he must show that he wants to play. He is up against very good football players, on the wings he is up against Sirino, Themba Zwane and Toni Silva and at number 10 he is up against Vilakazi, and also you need to understand why he was not playing, Khama Billiat was there, Percy Tau was there and it was difficult for him to find space in the team. It was not easy for the last two years when those guys were there, we have to be honest.”
“He needs to improve, everybody needs to improve, is he helping you at national team level, are you happy with him?” counter asked the Sundowns gaffer before ending further questions around the player. Meanwhile, Mosimane appeared to be impressed with what he saw from Rollers during the game. Popa emerged winners from the contest courtesy of a Joel Mogorosi first half goal.
“They played well, they have a good defence, they are dynamic upfront, you can see Mogorosi is still strong. He adds a little bit of power up there especially on aerial balls, but they need to be clinical up front and take their chances. They should also try and avoid small mistakes at the back,” ended Mosimane.