Veteran Orlando Pirates midfielder Makhehleni Makhaula has opened up about the role he plays behind the scenes to motivate his teammates on the importance of winning the Betway Premiership title, revealing he’s always on everyone’s case when they slack off. Pirates, who host bottom-placed Magesi at Orlando Stadium on Saturday (6pm), have emerged as genuine title contenders this season. Bucs have gone 11 league games without a defeat with nine wins and two draws to sit third on the table, just three points behind leaders Mamelodi Sundowns, who’ve played two games more than them.
“If I see one player not training well, I am not scared to tell them, ‘You can’t f*** up like this’. It might be the last time for some of us to be in this position of fighting for the title, so if we don’t push each other, it’s a problem,” 36-year-old Makhaula said. “I have belief that this season we can win the league, but we mustn’t put ourselves under pressure because that’s where we can go wrong.
We mustn’t mind what other teams are doing but we must continue to focus on ourselves. “You can see these boys [his teammates] are hungry for success.” Makhaula, the reigning PSL Midfielder of the Season, also wants to win the league title for his late mother. “It would mean a lot to win the league.
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I also want to win it for my late mother who was a die-hard Pirates fan. “She’d be really proud if I achieve that with this club that I’ve also always loved.” The tough anchorman said the difference between this season and the past three campaigns, where Pirates finished as runners-up to Sundowns, is that their defence is not easy to bridge now. “Our defence is solid now.
We are no longer conceding silly goals and that’s the difference. I really think this season it [winning the league] will happen but we have to remain humble even if we win games.”
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