Baroka midfielder Collins Makgaka, believes his former Orlando Pirates teammate Tshepo Mashiloane will knuckle down at the Buccaneers after joining from Baroka this transfer window.
“He's a unique player, a hard worker. I believe in him. He just needs a few touch-ups to be a complete player, but talent-wise, he's up there. He has what it takes to establish himself at Pirates, but he must allow himself a room to learn as well,” Makgaka told Sowetan.
He's a unique player, a hard worker. I believe in him. He just needs a few touch-ups to be a complete player, but talent-wise, he's up there.
— Baroka midfielder Collins Makgaka,
“I have already spoken to him a lot, but those weren't formal conversations ... we were just talking as friends. I've told him things to expect at Pirates, the dos and don'ts. I told him to grab the opportunity with both hands there and be a better player and a better person. He must understand the competition is very stiff at Pirates.”
Makgaka, who spent almost three years at Pirates, between August 2020 and July 2023, also lauded Bakgaga's decision to keep the core of last season's team as they aim for promotion back to the Premiership.
Baroka, who finished eighth in the Motsepe Foundation Championship (MFC) last season, were relegated from the top flight in 2022. “The team needed to keep the core of the team from last season. When you have the core, you have everything ... it helps you with continuity as well. The foundation is already there, now what's left for us is to put in the work,” he said.
Makgaka is also banking on coach Dan “Dance” Malesela starting the season with them, having arrived midway through the season last term. “I think if we can play the way we finished last season, we have a chance of gaining promotion,” he said.
“Last season, we peaked very late. I think it will also help us that the coach [Malesela] is starting the season with us because you could see last season that we started getting the results when he arrived, which was a little bit too late to challenge for promotion.”
Mashiloane and Sydney Malivha, who joined Sekhukhune United, are the only players Baroka have lost ahead of the new campaign. Mashiloane faces a stiff competition from Deano van Rooyen, Bandile Shandu and Thabiso Lebitso for that right-back spot at Pirates.
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