“To be able to understand where they are going, understand the expectations. When you are part of a big institution like that, your life changes and that come with a lot of things, a lot of burdens and a lot of blessings. It is just a matter of how you handle that.
“My role is to also provide the tools, to offer advice, to say, ‘These are the things that might happen and if you feel like you might get overwhelmed, you can always come back for advice’.
“It is just to open that door to wish them luck to do well for the season.”
Mhlongo also added that his role now at Pirates is to mentor the players, sharing his experience with his injuries and the trouble he went through while still playing.
“My role at Pirates, apart from the production side, has nothing to do with the footballing side. My role is the mentorship programme, making sure that I share my experience in terms of injuries, the trouble that I went through, depression and so forth,” he said.
“I come in to help the players settle in so that they understand the demands of being associated with the team.”
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