No bad blood with Ertugral: Cape Town City captain Thamsanqa Mkhize

Cape Town City captain Thamsanqa Mkhize insists there are no issues between him and coach Muhsin Ertugral and emphasised they enjoy a good working relationship.

The duo shared a strained relationship in the past in their time together at Golden Arrows in 2013, leading to the defender leaving the club and joining Maritzburg United.

Mkhize then reportedly clinched a move to Orlando Pirates in 2016, but the transfer was alleged to have been blocked by Ertugral, who was Bucs' coach at the time in a five-month spell. Now the two have reunited at the Citizens after Ertugral replaced Eric Tinkler as head coach.

“There are no issues between me and the coach. We are professionals, we are just doing our jobs,” Mkhize said on Tuesday.

“I'm fortunate that I also worked under Muhsin at Arrows. Since he has been employed by Cape Town City, it's a good thing. For me, what I need to do is apply myself and work hard.

“Whatever happened at Pirates back then, I don't know. The only thing I was told was I was not on the coach's list that would go into the camp. That's all I know and I have moved past that and don't want to dwell on that.”

Mkhize is gearing up for a tough assignment when City host Pirates at Cape Town Stadium after their hard-fought 1-0 Betway Premiership victory over Kaizer Chiefs on Sunday.

“We are expecting a tough game against Pirates. I rate them highly because they have been doing well with the coach [Jose Riveiro], the players have been gelling and have been together for a long time,” he said.

“The win against Chiefs also helped the club a lot. It was the first game for the coach and to come in and get a positive result boosted the mood of the club.

“We are hoping to continue getting positive results and doing well in the league. As much as we know it is not going to be an easy one, we are playing at home and we just have to make sure we follow the coach's instructions.”

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