Mokwena judged harshly because he is black, says Mhlongo

Cape Town - Former Orlando Pirates skipper Benson Mhlongo believes that interim Buccaneers coach Rulani Mokwena gets an unfair amount of criticism due to being a black South African.

Mokwena has taken over the reigns with the Sea Robbers after the previous incumbent Milutin Sredojevic left to take over at Egyptian giants Zamalek.

However, Bucs have struggled for form in the Premiership leading to some fans questioning as to whether the young coach is up to the task.

Mhlongo told LimSportsZone: "There's just too much jealousy, I don't think as blacks we want to see another black person survive. If they can give it to a White or an Indian, we'll never say anything.

"I think as a nation we are jealous towards one another. Let's give him a chance and after some time we can say whether he's made it or not.

"We can't judge him in two games [sic] - no, we can't. We were saying he's great, now he's got a chance and we [want to criticise].

"There’s always a start. I've worked with Rulani, and I believe he's a good coach. Everyone has a journey, and he has to learn a lot. There's nothing that is perfect.

"As South Africans, we have to decide, do we groom our own or do we always depend on people from outside.

"When you work with an overseas or foreign coach, some of our players don't understand their language, while even some foreign coaches don't understand the English language.

"So, it makes life very difficult. I think it's time to have a spell - let's give ourselves five or 10 years to groom our coach and then see where we'll end up. I think the boy [Mokwena] deserves to be given a fair chance."

- TeamTalk Media