Sikhakhane returned to the United hotseat in a caretaker capacity following Kosta Papic's resignation on 3 September, with the Serbian later taking charge of Polokwane City.
Sikhakhane has since supervised three straight wins in the Absa Premiership, with his charges recently edging struggling AmaZulu 1-0 in Durban at the weekend. Their only loss under his watch came in a 1-0 defeat to Telkom Knockout holders Platinum Stars in the cup on 4 October.
Mpengesi, however, insists he will not be rushed into making a decision.
"He is not close to meeting it. So I'm not gonna rush him, he knows his targets," he says.
"He is still a caretaker coach and he is not gonna be appointed now because he must first meet his target. He is not far though and I can't disclose because it is a confidential matter between the employer and employee.
"One thing that I can tell you he is not far. He has surprised us as well, you know what I mean. Three wins in the row. If you look at the points we have, we have 13 points. In our previous campaign [in the PSL in 2012/13] we played 19 games we still had 13 points so now after eight games, we have 13 points. There is something good about this team."