Sandilands’ future lies in limbo at Sundowns
WITH Mamelodi Sundowns having signed 16 players — and counting — it is perhaps no surprise that a key player from seasons past has sought guarantees from coach Pitso Mosimane after losing his place in the starting lineup.
Wayne Sandilands, who agreed to a five-year contract extension at the club lastAugust after making theNo 1 jersey his own, is in danger of playing second fiddle to goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene. The Zambian was signed from Free State Stars in June.
Sandilands is believed to be unhappy with the potential lack of game time, and comments made by Bafana coach Gordon Igesund two weeks ago have unsettled the keeper further. The national team mentor, mindful that Mweene was picked ahead of Sandilands in Sundowns’ Premier League opener against Bloemfontein Celtic early this month, warned that the latter’s place in the Bafana team was in jeopardy.
“Wayne is not happy sitting on the bench, and that is a natural reaction. We had a meeting with Pitso and he told him he will judge the goalkeepers on merit,” said Glyn Binkin, who represents the Bafana second choice. “But we are also saying we will reassess the situation over the next six months to see if Wayne plays.”
An insider close to player movements at Sundowns said Sandilands could try force a move to Ajax Cape Town before the transfer window closes on Friday. Binkin confirmed that Ajax had shown interest and asked if the goalkeeper could be in- volved in a swap deal with Khama Billiat, who joined the Brazilians last week. However, the agent denied that Sandilands wanted out of Chloorkop after just one league match.
“Ajax enquired about Wayne when it appeared that [Eleazar] Rodgers was not keen on moving back to Cape Town for personal reasons. It was then they asked if Sundowns would release Wayne, but they said that was not an option,” said Binkin.
Asked how difficult he thought it was to drop Sandilands in Sundowns’ league opener after two seasons as the first choice, Mosimane said the team was bigger than the former Platinum Stars goalkeeper.
“Wayne understands this is about teamwork and Sundowns is bigger and more important than me as a coach and him as a player.”