Scouting players a collective effort at Downs – Mngqithi

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi has explained the process of identifying new players who come to the club and improve their football.

Sundowns have mastered the art of signing ordinary players and turning them into stars, players such as Khuliso Mudau, Neo Maema, Aubrey Modiba, Bathusi Aubaas, Ronwen Williams and Grant Kekana, among others.

Mngqithi said before they sign a player they know what they are looking for and will start looking at his videos and that this is where they get it right most of the time.

“I would not want to take credit because most of these decisions are collective. You do put your opinion as an individual and say, 'I think that boy, Mudau, can help us',” Mngqithi explained.

“And once you put that in the group, everybody starts to look. The analyst starts to look, the data analyst, the conditioning guys, physical data analyst and we start to look at all these perimeters and metrics and start asking, 'is this specimen likely to give you what you want in that particular position?'

“I think that helps a lot, fortunately we are that team that has a lot of eyes and ears. We can listen to one another probably because we have confidence in each other's abilities.

“And that is why we always come out with players like maybe not many people have identified them at that time because at least we know what type of a full-back we are looking for. Then we start looking deep into those individuals. I must give the club credit in that regard because I think when the name has been dropped in, we start looking.”

Mngqithi added that once the player is signed, it is up to him to work hard and this has been the difference as every player raises their game. “The easiest thing you will get as a player is if you start giving your all; there is one thing that we don't ask at Sundowns ... and we won't ask you to work hard because that one is given,” he said.

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