Newly appointed Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has set the record straight regarding troubled midfielder Sipho Mbule, who unexpectedly joined the Sea Robbers in what was a shock move in the PSL.

The Moroccan’s appointment as Jose Riveiro’s successor came just a few weeks after he waxed lyrical about the former Mamelodi Sundowns star in a radio interview with Robert Marawa. 

Interestingly, Mbule was announced a day after the Buccaneers installed Ouaddou as the new coach. This sparked suggestions that the ex-Marumo Gallants mentor recommended the signing of the highly rated midfielder to the Bucs hierarchy. However, the 44-year-old tactician poured cold water on those claims.

“It’s funny because at that time I spoke about Sipho Mbule, to be honest, I was not even approached by Orlando Pirates. So, it’s just that Robert Marawa asked me about some players that I like, and I spoke about Mbule because I like this kind of player, who’s not scared of the ball, and they want to go forward, they are good with the ball,” Ouaddou said on Pirates TV.

Ouaddou went on to address Mbule’s off-field behavior, urging the 27-year-old to make wise career decisions as he has been afforded a second chance at the highest level. Moreover, the Pirates coach lauded the management for placing faith in ‘Master Chef’, as the player is fondly known.

“But you know, there are some players that need to be managed properly. Of course, he has talent, but maybe from him, or I don’t know what happened in this gap of time, he didn’t manage his career well. Maybe he didn’t manage his choices well sometimes in his career,” he added.

“Maybe he was too good as well and he was thinking that he reached the [highest] level, but sometimes the law of football is very tough – when you don’t respect football, when you don’t respect yourself, when you don’t respect the job, it can be tough because it [football] can call you back to say it’s not time for you to slow down.

“It’s what I want to tell my players every time, to take care of their bodies, take care of their lifestyles, and to know that things can quickly go in the right way, but you can quickly go in the wrong way as well as soon as you don’t respect football. If you respect football, football will respect you.” 

Ouaddou continued: “These kinds of players, if they come back in the highest fitness level we want from them, of course, they can help you. They are diamonds, but the diamond you have to protect. If you put a diamond in the wrong place, the diamond won’t shine.

“But to come back to Mbule, it’s up to him [to change], it’s not up to me. And I find it fantastic that the board of such a big club [decided to sign him], not because of me, because people don’t have to think I brought him here, because the board decides about the people they want to bring here. But he has to take this moment as a very strong message and a blessing to come back to a good club, and we will be with him, we will support him.

“We already spoke to the staff that we will do everything to bring him to the light. But in saying that, he is not a young player anymore; he has to manage his career, his lifestyle, but one thing is for sure, we will support him and all our players to help the team. We hope to come back here at the end of the season to say that Orlando Pirates had a good bet on him, but I’m 100% sure that he will help us.”