‘It’s a No-Brainer’ - Ex-Sundowns Coach Explains Why Table Topping Pirates Have no Chance in Title Race

While Orlando Pirates have sustained a strong title challenge in the Premier Soccer League, former Mamelodi Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi thinks their race is doomed.

Pirates are top of the PSL table with 44 points from 19 matches but Sundowns are right with them as they also have 44 points and only second on goal difference as the season heads into its homestretch.

It has been a great run for Pirates, who have watched as Sundowns have won the last eight league titles in a row, and after three successive second-place finishes, their fans are dreaming of a first league crown since 2012.

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However, Mngqithi, who is now in charge of Golden Arrows, does not see how any other team will topple Sundowns, who he terms so strong that their bench can turn a game in a flash compared to other sides who rely on two or three good players and struggle when they are not in the side.

“I’ve always believed that Sundowns have got what it takes to win the league, and I’ve always said it,” Mngqithi told the media after watching his side lose 2-1 to Sundowns on Wednesday night.

“I’m not mincing my words because even if you look at the players who weren’t on the bench, that team has got what it takes to win the league.”

Mngqithi has lauded Pirates for providing strong competition to Sundowns but thinks it is only a matter of time before they fall off and the Brazilians are crowned again.

“I like the competition that Pirates is bringing — and the other teams — but the reality is this team [Sundowns] has got depth. And not just depth; I can take one or two big teams and say if player A and player B would not be in the team, they would not be the same,” he added.

“But at Sundowns, if Teboho [Mokoena] is not there, Marcelo [Allende] is there, Jayden Adams is there, so is [Bathusi] Aubaas. It is the same for me: [Sphelele] Mkhulise should be playing regularly as well.

“So there is so much depth in every position and based on that, even when the season becomes stressful, they’ve got enough quality. I don’t think there is any issue there and nobody should think there is serious contention there. For me it is a no-brainer.”