Mngqithi has warned Stellenbosch management and its supporters against raising their expectations after the Western Cape outfit finished third and claimed their maiden prize in the top flight.
Steve Barker guided Stellies through their most successful season yet, when they punched above their weight in the 2023/24 term, finishing in third position behind champions Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates.
Stellies also bagged the Carling Knockout and earned themselves a spot in this season’s CAF Confederation Cup.
With the jubilation being tangible and confidence oozing at Stellies – Mngqithi says their biggest test is yet to come and advises Barker to urge his side to curb its enthusiasm.
“As a team, you need to understand yourselves. At Stellenbosch, they do not change coaches a lot, so they have a very clear playing philosophy, which is working for them. It is working for them up until a certain point,” said Mngqithi.
“I remember after winning the MTN8 with Golden Arrows, the expectations from management and everyone started to shift, and they started to believe that maybe the team should be in the top four. When we start to put that stress on the team, it starts to create problems.”
"I am just a little bit scared that Stellenbosch can go that direction of thinking the team has matured and the expectations start to grow."
Mngqithi’s Abafana Bes’thende class of 2009 hold the record of scoring the most goals in a South African Cup final when they tormented a hapless Ajax Cape Town (now known as Cape Town Spurs) in the MTN8 final about 15 years ago.
Mngqithi oversaw an outstanding Arrows performance where they netted half a dozen goals to no response from the Urban Warriors.
Like Arrows’ turn of fortunes at the time, Mngqithi recalls the sudden shift at English Premier League side Leicester City, who sent shockwaves across the globe when they clinched the league crown in the 2015/16 season.
“Claudio Ranieri (former Leicester coach) won the Premier League on counter-attacks because Jamie Vardy was strong. Immediately after winning the league, the expectations grew.
“If you were to ask them at the beginning of the season – ‘Would you be able to be in the top eight?’ they would have said yes, ‘Would you be able to be in the top 10?’, they would have said yes, ‘do you see yourself in the top four?’, they would have said ‘not sure’. But after winning the league, Ranieri lost his job because the expectations moved.
“A bit of that happened with Maritzburg United (now known as Durban City) when they produced a lot of good players then they started to shift their goalposts. It is very important that the club understands its culture and its playing concept.
“Once that is clear, you are happy to celebrate the accidents of doing better than what you anticipated. But when you start feeling like you are now at the same level like everybody else and you want to compete at that level, it becomes a big challenge.”
𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗜𝗧𝗖𝗛𝗦𝗜𝗗𝗘 𝗣𝗢𝗗𝗖𝗔𝗦𝗧: 𝗪𝗔𝗙𝗔 𝗪𝗔𝗙𝗔 𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟 🔥
— Mamelodi Sundowns FC (@Masandawana) August 26, 2024
It's back-to-back #MTN8 action this week and our panel looks ahead to the crunch semi-final tie against our opponents from the Cape! ⚽
Fresh new episode 📲 https://t.co/px8HUrno1d#Sundowns… pic.twitter.com/9De1SLA11V
Mngqithi and his technical team have sussed out Stellies’ game plan ahead of their MTN8 first-leg semi-final meeting on Wednesday in the capital city.
Downs will host Barker’s outfit at the Lucas Moripe Stadium at 19:00 where the Downs coach is likely to set out traps and poke holes in Stellies’ strategy.
“They are solely based on a counter-attacking game and they are very strong in that game. They can only play that game for as long as teams do not respect them and they come to them.”
“But at a certain point teams will start to shift the goalpost and say Stellenbosch must be respected and then teams start to sit back.
“When they start to sit back, Stellenbosch must find solutions to play in front of a packed defence. Let’s just wait and see what their expectations are and what they are going to do this season,” Mngqithi concluded.
