The former Bucs striker has backed the 34-year-old tactician, who is in his first coaching job in the PSL
Orlando Pirates legend Jerry Sikhosana has urged fans to be patient with Rulani Mokwena.
The young tactician was appointed Bucs caretaker coach following the sudden departure of Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojevic on Friday.
Mokwena’s second game in charge of Pirates ended in a goalless draw against AmaZulu FC in a PSL match on Tuesday.
Sikhosana, who had two spells with the Soweto giants as a player, believes local coaches should be given a chance to lead Bafana Bafana and local clubs.
“We need to be more patient with our local coaches because we are the same people that cry foul when the national team brings a foreign coach and he doesn’t do well and we say, ‘Why don’t we bring in a local?’” Sikhosana said on EWN News on Wednesday.
“Let’s give the locals (a chance). Let them fail and learn from their mistakes. You’ll never know maybe this is our next Bafana Bafana coach.”
The draw against AmaZulu extended Pirates’ winless run to four matches across all competitions this season.
Sikhosana is sad to see the Serbian tactician leave the Houghton-based side and he made it clear Mokwena should not be blamed for the team’s struggles.
“I am a bit disappointed especially considering the benchmark they set last season when Micho was still around,” the former Bafana striker added.
“But you can’t fault Rulani because there are a lot of things that have happened in the last 72 hours.”
Pirates’ next match is against Zambian side Green Eagles in the 2019/20 Caf Champions League preliminary round second-leg match on Saturday.
The Buccaneers are trailing 1-0 on aggregate and they will be looking to overturn the deficit at Orlando Stadium in Soweto.
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