‘I hope someone at Sundowns comes close to Saleng’

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‘I hope someone at Sundowns comes close to Saleng’

Aug 13, 2026 – 09:33 pm
By Thato Bosoga

Mental Performance and Sport Psychology expert Jordan Byrne has put out a challenge to SAFA and Mamelodi Sundowns amid the debacle surrounding talented but controversial Monnapule Saleng.

Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso has labelled Saleng a player who has had “systematic failures” in the process of being integrated into the side’s set-up after signing from Orlando Pirates, to the point where he has now been separated from the rest of the group.

Speaking exclusively to KickOff, Mental Performance and Sport Psychology professional Byrne says it is paramount that football authorities such as SAFA and PSL clubs start taking the mental side of the game seriously, especially with regards to players.

“These players are human first before they are footballers. They arrive at the club’s facilities, at the games, with their own stuff, their own troubles, their own life experiences,” shared Byrne.

“Some may be traumatic, some may be positive, but for the most part, we carry a lot of baggage, we carry a lot of unresolved trauma, we carry a lot of emotions with us and if this was not dealt with, which clearly has not been … and perhaps he has not had an outlet, he has not had someone he can talk to.

“The expectation can’t be on the individual himself. It needs to start from the club level, it needs to start from SAFA level actually, to realise that the mental side of the game does matter to our players and it needs to be acknowledged and addressed,” added Byrne, who holds a Master’s Degree in Sports Psychology from the University of the Western Cape.

“There’s more and more cases like this, and surely now has to be the time for SAFA to say, enough is enough, we need to be doing something here. For a player not to be integrated or to struggle in a set-up as they move… In European set-ups, there are people dedicated to this role.

“It’s a massive change in lifestyle and what you’re exposed to… the financial side too. All of a sudden, you are earning a good salary, and you’ve got a lot of people around you, family and friends who are relying on you for some sort of support, to be successful. A massive amount of pressure.

“When you are carrying with you trauma or emotions that you don’t know how to resolve, then it’s only normal that we see reactions like this from players, where they sort of flip out and are unable to deal with it. They react in ways that are not good and it costs them a spot in the squad, and that’s hard to swallow.

“They want it so badly that it almost becomes detrimental to their performances. I hope there is someone at Sundowns who will come close to him and guide him through this process so that we can get the best out of him. The clubs need to be appointing counselors or sport psychologists. It’s not only about what happens on the pitch.

“What happens when they walk off the pitch and they are not happy with who they are and how they performed?” quizzed the expert.

For professional help, Byrne can be reached on Instagram: @MindMattersPerformance (Mind Matters) and via email: [email protected]