Muhsin knows all about pressure

19 October 2016 - 09:59 By KHANYISO TSHWAKU

It was fitting that Orlando Pirates coach Muhsin Ertugral had his No1 goalkeeper Brighton Mhlongo sitting next to him. It was an acknowledgement of the monumental mistake Ertugral made when he consigned Mhlongo to the stands in the opening two matches of the season.One of those games happened to be the 2-1 MTN8 quarterfinal defeat by Bidvest Wits in which two Felipe Ovono howlers gave the latter a pathway to the final.Ovono also made a crucial mistake in the 3-1 win against Golden Arrows.With Golden Arrows a far stronger side now, Ertugral will be taking no chances for Sunday's Telkom Knockout Cup last 16 tie at the Orlando Stadium."When I dropped Brighton, I told him I had his back and he should be fighting for his place and I was being professional about him being dropped. Brighton handled it well and it was a lesson as a coach because if something is not working, you want to work harder at it."Brighton's always been No1 and he's let his actions do all the talking. He's kept us in the game in the past three matches," Ertugral said."I think I was right to take him out of those two games. "Some players, they need action, while others need just criticism to perform."With Orlando Pirates celebrating their 80th anniversary this year there is pressure to win trophies."I've been in this industry long enough to know that I don't get myself under pressure by just one result."There's always pressure, but what's happening in my country [Turkey] is what you call pressure."They've gone into Mosul [Iraq] and there are people dying. They are trying to get Islamic State out. Now that's pressure."At the end of the day you need to get results and that's something I understand and I can handle pressure," Ertugral said...

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