Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Manqoba Mngqithi will be hoping he is not haunted by the words of the club's former coach, Rulani Mokwena, with regards to a rotation policy.
Mngqithi has taken a bold decision to rotate the team even in the early stages of the season, after only Ronwen Williams and Peter Shalulile were retained from their Carling Knockout thrashing of Kaizer Chiefs on Saturday, in the league game they won 2-0 against Polokwane City on Wednesday.
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The tactician was criticized after he did not play the regulars in a 1-0 defeat to Rise and Shine almost two weeks ago.
Mokwena, in contrast, was not a fan of rotation, as he believed it made the team drop unnecessary points and broke the cohesion.
"I'm not sure whether rotation is the right thing in big clubs, because of cohesion, chemistry, fluidity and also because last season [2022/23] when we dropped points against AmaZulu, Maritzburg United, Golden Arrows, Stellenbosch when we lost in a cup, drew [in the league], was when we rotated the team a lot," Mokwena said in November last year.
"It's not like we're handing out appearances, we're not in that space for charity. The other part is that football is a game that is based on meritocracy. You have to earn the right to play," the 37-year-old added. as Sundowns almost finished the whole campaign unbeaten, losing to Cape Town City on the final matchday.
However, Mngqithi believes the reason why Sundowns were not sharp and decisive in the CAF Champions League knockout stages is because of lack of rotation, where players get injuries and fatigue for playing too many matches.
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"We're trying to make sure that we've got a fresh squad for longer, because every time when we go towards the quarter-finals of the Champions League, by that time normally ... Probably we're [a] little bit fortunate this time around ... by December we would have played 10 matches in the league," Mngqithi said in the press conference after Wednesday's match.
"Because normally when we go to the Champions League, we're already sitting on 15, 20 matches. At that time when you did not rotate enough, you already start to have a lot of injuries, the legs are heavy and the players are no longer what you know them to be."
What's best for Sundowns? Rotation or no rotation? Let us know in the comments section below.