Steve Komphela on the complex coaching arrangement at Sundowns

Mamelodi Sundowns senior coach Steve Komphela has divulged that maturity and selflessness are some of the qualities that have helped maintain harmony among coaches at the club. 

Komphela is part of a complicated coaching arrangement at Chloorkop where he works with head coach Manqoba Mngqithi, assistants Wendell Robinson, Michael Loftman and Romain Folz and goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene. 

As Sundowns prepared to visit Kaizer Chiefs for the hugely anticipated Carling Knockout quarterfinal clash on Saturday at FNB Stadium (6pm), Komphela said it’s all about maturity. 

“The leadership environment at Sundowns is very complex and it has always been like that,” he said. 

“In high performance environments, you can’t hold too much sentiments because it is about production. In answering the question of what is holding us and keeping the environment together, it is maturity, selflessness and understanding leadership.

“If you are at a complex environment like that and you are selfish, you will have a problem and If you are in an environment like that and you lack maturity, you will have a problem.

“Can you imagine I go in there and I am egoistic and coach Manqoba is there and you don’t want to accept that leadership is about sharing opinions. It is also about understanding positions are not a reflection of leadership. 

“Leadership is about your inputs and in dealing with matters to get maximum outputs. If you lack that, you can’t work at Mamelodi Sundowns or anywhere else.” 

Komphela added players need to be respected. 

“Modern leadership and management, which also goes to everybody in corporate, is that you need to have soft skills no matter how good you are. In modern life, even if you are a top person but if you lack soft skills you will see nothing in leadership. 

“You don’t instruct people any more but you must get a buy-in from them, you don’t bulldoze people any more. If you are Carlos Queiroz at Manchester United, you can’t say no when David Beckham needs to go to LA for a photo shoot for his sponsors. 

“You can’t say no when Ronaldo takes his private jet to go to Portugal because you are dealing with these guys who have money and you can’t treat him like a small boy. That time of telling people is gone my friend, you have explain why it has to be done.” 

At the beginning of the season, Sundowns were under pressure after successive MTN8 semifinal losses to Stellenbosch and Komphela said they never panicked. 

“Mind over matter, who said it will all be given to you? How many stories have you written and they didn’t get five stars? Did you drop the pen and paper or the laptop, the answer is no because you didn't get bitter but you got better. 

“Focus and have the same level of expectation from disappointments that success is always surrounded by sourness and disappointments. Slight touch of sourness and bitterness should not dampen your spirit and desire to want to succeed.”