'Mhango was mistreated at Pirates,' says Malawi coach Mario Marinica

Malawi head coach Mario Marinica says one of his best players, Gabadinho Mhango, was mistreated at Orlando Pirates.

Mhango, who is with the Malawi team at the Cosafa Cup taking place in Durban, saw minimal action on the pitch at Pirates after his excellent showing at the African Cup of Nations (Afcon) earlier this year.

He has since left the Soweto giants and signed a deal with Durban-based DStv Premiership side AmaZulu.

While the reasons behind Mhango’s absence on the pitch for the Bucs during his tenure with the side are still unknown, Marinica says what happened to his star player was not fair and caused a dip in his form as he couldn’t help his nation beyond the Cosafa Cup group stages.

“Obviously, he had a tough time with his (former) club. I think he was mistreated by his club (Pirates),” Marinica said in a press conference after his side's 1-1 draw against Eswatini.

“He was not told as a player you are good enough or we don’t want you, he was in between.”

When the coach was asked if Mhango did tell him what actually happened at Pirates or that he felt mistreated, Marinica said the player hadn't told him anything, but he didn’t need to.

“He didn’t have to tell me anything, I know everything, and I’m his coach. I have the information about every player I work with. I know exactly what happened with his club,” Marinica said.

Against Eswatini, Mhango was substituted before the start of the second half while he also didn’t finish the match in the surprise 2-1 defeat to Lesotho.

“So, obviously his fitness is not quite there. Obviously, Gabadinho was playing for us in Afcon qualifiers and he needs a bit of a rest because he played all the matches despite not playing for his club so we have to try and manage the player,” Marinica said.