Manqoba Mngqithi has broken his silence on his shock exit from Tanzanian giants Young Africans, and he says it had nothing to do with football.

The former Sundowns coach guided Yanga to the CAF Champions League group stage and won the Community Shield against Steve Barker’s Simba SC.

But a Kariakoo Derby defeat to the same rivals earlier this month fuelled speculation about his future, and he was gone soon after.

Speaking to Andile Ncube on Metro FM on Tuesday, Mngqithi said he refused to bend his beliefs to keep his job.

“It was a matter of principle. I wanted to make sure my principles, beliefs and ethics remained intact. That was more important than holding on to a job, and that was basically why we parted ways,” he said.

Tensions had been building before the Simba encounter and Yanga’s last match under his guidance. Even so, he insists there is no bad blood.

“I honestly don’t think it had anything to do with football,” he said. “The team was good to me, the president [Hersi Ally Said] was good to me, and my staff worked very hard. We achieved most of our targets.”

The biggest clash was over players who missed training. Mngqithi alleged that some absences were treated too leniently, which went against the standards he wanted to enforce. He did not name the players involved.

“The team needs to improve its level of professionalism. It cannot be normal for a player to miss training and face little disciplinary action,” the 55-year-old coach said.

“That was probably the biggest issue. It was something management and I would disagree about because I cannot accept a player missing training and that being treated as normal.”

He said he made his concerns clear to the club’s leadership, arguing that players must face consequences when they fail in their responsibilities.

Visit MDNtv YouTube Channel for our video content