Coach stresses professionalism amid speculation over Pirates exit

Golden Arrows coach Mandla Ncikazi has responded about the alleged fallout with Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou during their stay at the Buccaneers.

Ncikazi recently joined Arrows, and his exit from the Buccaneers was clouded by speculation of an internal rift with Ouaddou. While Ouaddou said their relationship was good, Ncikazi emphasised professional integrity and discretion.

“As a man of my age, you don’t talk ill about your former employer because you offend them,” Ncikazi told the media after their 1-0 defeat to Mamelodi Sundowns in the Carling Knockout match at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Tuesday.

“Equally, when I start talking about my former employer, I’m offending my current employer. Every house has a toilet.

“As a man, you don’t have a responsibility to tell every family member there’s challenges in your family. Even if there was a problem, you are not going to know because I’m a man. I have a responsibility to protect the environment I work for.

“In every club where I’ve worked, there are issues. But I don’t have a responsibility to publicly tell. As a coach, you are a CEO of the company. Protect the environment. I’ve got no comment. I’ve got no issues to answer.”

After the defeat to Sundowns, Ncikazi pointed to key areas his side needs to work on, expressing disappointment with his team’s output going forward, highlighting that they struggled with the final pass and final decision.

“We will try to make the team better. We got into the areas we wanted to get into, but I’m disappointed in that part where there was one missing link.

“I don’t think we will win games if we don’t make decisions in that final area. But I’m not disappointed with the effort from the boys. They work very hard and there is something to work on and congratulations to Sundowns.”