Khuliso Mudau, Teboho Mokoena still important - Manqoba Mngqithi

SABC Sport reported the Bafana Bafana duo were surprise omissions ahead of Sundowns’ opening Betway Premiership clash against SuperSport United, after also sitting out the CAF Champions League win over Mbabane Swallows last Saturday.

Mngqithi offered an explanation following the 2-0 victory over their Tshwane rivals last night.

"They are still very important players for the team, you must know that. They are still going to come in and help us," assured Mngqithi. 

"But after the game of Mbabane, it was very difficult for us to change the team that much because we achieved far more than in many other games.

"One might say it was Mbabane anyway, but we have played a lot of these preliminary games before and never achieved 855 passes, 730-something passes completed, the highest xG probably in the last 170 matches, I think 11/21 shots on target.

"So unfortunately, when you win like that and you are resting some players because of the load they had – coming all the way from South Sudan, and you go to SuperSport, you say, 'No, let's continue.'

"Sometimes it's also important to show these players that we also have confidence in them, we are not just using them in the absence of certain players.

"And that culture is going to happen a lot this season, considering that we have so many competitions, and it's important that we make sure we keep everybody hungry and interested."

The coach rebuffed any suggestions there was tension between himself and the two players in question. 

"The truth of the matter is I did not see any tension, and the fact that Teboho or Mudau was not playing, and you knew too early, it's a bit of a surprise to me," he added.

"We must also show respect for the players that are performing at that point in time, because sometimes we are caught up in our private politics, which makes us ignore the good performances and opportunities given to other players." 

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