Mamelodi Sundowns won't get the right price for Khama Billiat, says Manqoba Mngqithi

With Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane recently confirming the impending departure of both Khama Billiat and Leonardo Castro, there is potentially a mass player exodus on the horizon at Chloorkop.

Masandawana have experienced an underwhelming first half of the league season as injuries, inconsistency and a lack of form has seen them fail to reignite the spark which saw them dominate the continent.

However, with so many players whose futures remain uncertain as they approach their final six months at the Tshwane giants, Sundowns assistant coach Manqoba Mngqithi believes the club should have dealt with the issue in a different manner.

The former Golden Arrows coach suggests that star players like Billiat should have been allowed to leave after winning everthing they possibly could, making way for players who are hungrier.

“Personally, I have a different view in keeping players,” Mngqithi was quoted by The Star as saying.

“The same thing that I’m talking about myself would apply even to the players. When players have won everything with you, and you have read the All Blacks book which is called The Legacy, the best thing to do is to let them go so that you can start afresh and rekindle the fire, the power, desire and hunger.

"When you keeping the same team and hope to achieve the same outcomes, in most cases it doesn’t work,” Mngqithi explained.

“No matter how talented you are, you also need to work on your hunger level. because that’s where better energy comes from.

"When a player wants to win something, when a team wants something, there are better chances of winning even if you don’t have a good talented team. If the team has got the desire and the belief that we want to win, their chances of winning are higher,” he continued.

"The same team that won us so many things it is the same team we are losing so many things with. Psychologically that should tell you something. You can’t have the team that win the Champions League, Super Cup, Premiership, Nedbank and the Telkom and suddenly that team can’t even win a single trophy. You get what I’m saying,” Mngqithi added.

With several of Sundowns’ fringe players such as Siyanda Zwane and Thela Ngobeni also add to the list of players who are reportedly seeking an exit, and Mngqithi states that it is perhaps time to start looking at the future and building a new team.

“It is only fair to give other players a chance so that they can be the Billiat of the future, the Anthony Laffor and Themba Zwane of the future. I’m not saying it is nice or it is right or proper to let go of your best players, but I’m just giving you a psychological side in to the issue of players which is my personal belief,” he said.

"After winning the (Caf) Champions League I would have sold Khama, I would have sold Themba (Zwane) and I would have sold my top players and started afresh. Currently you are not going to sell them at the right price because they have not won anything, but if we sold them right after winning the Champions League we would have made better money. We got more than R28-million for Keagan Dolly. The value was very high. I would have let go of those players,” Mngqithi concluded..