Ncikazi on Malawi star Mhango’s omission at Pirates: ‘Maybe the league in SA is bigger than Afcon’

Orlando Pirates co-coach Mandla Ncikazi says the “galaxy of strikers” at the club means Gabadinho Mhango will have to wait his turn to play as he also suggested the DStv Premiership is a bigger stage than the Africa Cup of Nations finals.

Mhango and Tshegofatso Mabasa could not make the match-day 20 as Pirates defeated AmaZulu 1-0 in their Nedbank Cup Last 32 clash at the Orlando Stadium on Sunday.

This despite Malawi international Mhango being one of the stars of the Cup of Nations in Cameroon, where his three goals and wonder strike against Morocco caught the attention of the watching world.  

“Pirates is a big team and we have good strikers, Mhango being one of them,” Ncikazi said.

“We also have [Zakhele] Lepasa and [Tshegofatso] Mabasa, who was not part of the team. There is [Kwame] Peprah. So it is a galaxy of strikers. The choice was for players who have been preparing for the past few weeks, but Mhango just came back [from the Cup of Nations]. We know he is a good player. Iit is not because anything is wrong with him, it is just competition.

“We chose to go with Peprah and Lepasa. He [Mhango] will have to work hard and wait for his chance. He will wait like all other players. We recognise and acknowledge his performance in Afcon. But maybe the league in SA is bigger than Afcon.

”Pirates also have other attacking options in the team which, all of a sudden, makes for an embarrassment of riches up front for The Buccaneers. Thembinkosi Lorch is a top player. When I arrived here he was injured. He is getting better with each game. He is a game-decider. The players have a lot of confidence playing around him.

“We are looking to him for a lot of things. He is one of those players a lot of teams would love to have. Added to that is starlet Boitumelo Radiopane in the DStv Diski Challenge side.

“That one is going to cause one of the coaches here to faint or get fired. I’m joking, but the young man is doing well and I would love to play him in the senior team.

“But if we are not guaranteed he will start, we want to ensure he gets game time and minutes to help him to continue to develop. He is in the galaxy of strikers I have mentioned. We want to fast-track his development and I am sure he will be a star in the future.”

Ncikazi also brushed off the fact that Pirates had made no signings in the January transfer window, while major rivals Mamelodi Sundowns added serious strength to their squad with a number of high-profile new arrivals.

“I respect all protocols within the club. I respect management and their judgement. They have been doing it for years. Like any other coach, I would love to have Lionel Messi and Neymar in our team, but does it make business sense? We must not sign players for the sake of signing them. We must sign them because we need them, and because we can afford to have them.”

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