Gaba too raw —Celtic coach
Bloemfontein Celtic coach Ernst Middendorp says Frank ‘Gabadinho’ Mhango is still raw and needs polishing despite impressing in his debut South Africa Premiership season.
In a recent interview with Times newspaper of South Africa, Middendorp affectionately referred to the Celtic top scorer and Players’ Player of the Season for the last campaign as his “schoolboy”.
“I’m not talking with any disrespect. I just think he is a very raw diamond, who hasn’t been worked on much yet. It’s still a bit too much up and down from him. He has the quality, if he can understand what it means to be a professional player, he can have a good future,” the German is quoted as saying.
“He just needs a bit of tactical polishing. Work with your partner unlocking the opponents, not always one against one. Have the right movement during the two against two.”
Mhango has also transferred his form to country. His brace earned the Flames a place in the next preliminary round of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations. Middendorp noted that Mhango is a real explosion.
“Otherwise his strength is definitely his natural approach, of a striker running against defenders, penetrating them, having fun turning them around. Also, at the moment, defenders don’t take him really seriously. Perhaps a bit more visibility and they will come at him and he’ll be a main target. He will have to learn to deal with that,” he added.
The newspaper further quoted Mhango as saying his parents in Malawi are unemployed. He added that he dropped out of high school to concentrate on football.
“My parents said that if football didn’t work out, I should go back to school. People look at me and think I’m young, but the mind is old. And football is in the mind,” he concluded.
