Rulani Mokwena has remained vague on the future of attacker Gaston Sirino with the Uruguayan a peripheral figure in the Mamelodi Sundowns squad in recent weeks.
Sirino has made 24 appearances for the Brazilians in the 2023/24 DStv Premiership season netting five times with two assists.
The 33-year-old attacker looked to be heading for the exit door at Chloorkop after Egyptian giants Al Ahly showed interest in his services under former coach Pitso Mosimane.
Mokwena has detailed why the Uruguayan has not featured prominently for his side.
“As the coach I have the unfortunate privilege to make decisions based on what I see every day at training and for me, there is just more to the game than the pass, and the dribble and that’s not just for Gaston, that’s for all the players at Mamelodi Sundowns,” Mokwena told Sports Night Amplified with Andile Ncube.
“Is the feeling of trust, it’s the feeling of investment, the feeling of I’m prepared not to leave.
“I come from a family that has invested so much in football and I understand for example that football is not just a game that is to be played without emotions.
“Unfortunately, because I have a late grandfather who died because he was on his way to Welkom to recruit one of the best players for Orlando Pirates at the time and he passed away mysteriously on the side of the road for football.
“I have an uncle who went overseas and was given a jersey by the greatest Pele. Who left his own wedding to go and help his team to win the final. Those are my expectations from my players, that’s the depth of investment I expect from my players.
“And when I don’t get that feeling, I don’t get that sense it is very difficult for me to play you in this team.”
Mokwena further reveals that he doesn’t have the power to say who stays or leaves the club.
“And what also doesn’t help by nature as human beings.
“If you express publicly not once, not twice, not three times and (we can’t hold it against him, fortunately) because he is also a very good person, he (Gaston Sirino) is someone I like a lot.
“But it’s difficult to get the best out of someone who doesn’t want to be there. And when someone publicly expresses for example he wears an Al Ahly jersey when we play Al Ahly twice home and away.
“As I said I love Sundowns and I make a lot of sacrifices, I demand a lot from myself for this club.
“I then put the same responsibility on the shoulders of these players.
“I don’t run the club that way. I don’t have the autonomy and the power to make those types of decisions.
“Because there are lots of things (contracts) there is who wants him (Sirino).
“There is quite a lot of things (agent), there’s a club, there is a player and lot of things have to happened.
“And when someone says I made a mistake but now I want to stay, it’s okay. We forgive and you want to see a little bit more than you have seen before.
“Because it’s not towards your coach but towards your teammates because it’s your teammates that need to know you are invested at the club.”
