Golden Arrows head coach Mandla Ncikazi has broken his silence on the alleged fallout with Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou before his departure from the Buccaneers.
Ncikazi responded to the allegations following Arrows’ 1–0 defeat to Mamelodi Sundowns in the Carling Knockout Cup quarter-final at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Tuesday night.
Sundowns and Arrows locked horns in the opening match of the Carling Cup quarter-finals with both sides eyeing a spot in the last four. However, the Brazilians prevailed courtesy of a second-half goal from Iqraam Rayners.
The clash against Sundowns marked Ncikazi’s third match in charge of Arrows since taking over the head coaching role at the end of last month. Ncikazi surprisingly relinquished his position as Pirates assistant coach to step into the hot seat at Abafana Bes’thende.
Before leaving the Soweto giants, reports alleged that Ncikazi had a major fallout with Ouaddou. The 57-year-old has finally addressed those reports, insisting he will never publicly criticise his former employers.
NCIKAZI CLEARS THE AIR ON PIRATES ALLEGED SOUR EXIT
“Guys, for the future, as a principle, and as a man of my age, yu don’t talk ill of your former employer because you offend them,” Ncikazi said.
“Equally the same, when I start talking about my former employers, I’m offending my current employer. Every house has got a toilet; as a man, you don’t have the responsibility of telling every family that there are challenges in your family.
“I’m just a man; even if there was a problem, you are not going to know because I’m a man. I have a responsibility to protect the environment that I work for.
“In every club that I worked for, there are issues, but I don’t publicly speak about them. As a coach, you are the CEO of the company, so protect the environment.”
The KZN-based outfit turned to Ncikazi to steady the ship following an inconsistent start to the 2026/27 Betway Premiership season. Arrows had struggled to secure positive results under Pitso Dladla, who was shown the exit door just three months after taking over the reins from Manqoba Mngqithi during the off-season.
After replacing Dladla, Ncikazi made an immediate impact, guiding Arrows to a resounding 4-0 victory over Chippa United in the Carling Cup Round of 16. However, following that cup triumph over Chippa, Ncikazi suffered a league defeat to AmaZulu FC before falling short against Sundowns in the CKO.
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