Before leaving the Soweto giants, Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou was rumoured to have had a falling out with Mandla Ncikazi, head coach of the Golden Arrows.

Following Tuesday night's Carling Knockout Cup quarterfinal loss to Mamelodi Sundowns 1-0 at Loftus Versfeld, Ncikazi addressed the media.

His remarks follow rumours that his relationship with Ouaddou had soured in his last days with the Pirates, and speculation about what led to his departure from the team.

The seasoned coach, though, would not comment on the claims, saying that he had no desire to address issues with his previous employers in a public forum.

For the sake of future reference, being a principled man and an individual of my age, you do not speak ill of your former employer for fear of offending them. Just as when I bring up my previous employers, I end up irritating my present employer, Ncikazi declared.

Regardless of the existence or absence of arguments, he continued by drawing an analogy to his family to illustrate his preference for keeping personal matters under wraps.

Every home has a bathroom; it is not your duty as a man to inform every family about the problems in your own. The fact that I am a man means that you will not be aware of any problems, he continued.

As a coach, Ncikazi added, he was responsible for maintaining a safe workplace for his teams.

There have been problems at every club I've worked for, but I've always kept quiet about them. Keep the planet safe; after all, you are the chief executive officer of your team as a coach.

After five years with Orlando Pirates, the 57-year-old departed in October, with the Buccaneers confirming his desire to seek a chance to return to head coaching. Later on, he became the leader of Golden Arrows.

While Ncikazi has chosen to remain silent regarding the purported dispute, his most recent comments have further complicated the narrative surrounding his exit.

He has made it plain that he plans to keep any personal matters private and concentrate on his new duties at Golden Arrows, rather than divulge details regarding his relationship with Ouaddou.

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