Royal AM president Shauwn Mkhize has revealed why her side didn’t sell Victor Letsoalo and also revealed the secret behind her side’s success this campaign so far.
Thwihli Thwahla currently sit in second place on the log with 33 points, one above Kaizer Chiefs and two ahead of Orlando Pirates.
MaMkhize says they are very proud of their team, considering they had a very little preparation time after buying the PSL status of Bloemfontein Celtic, insisting they couldn’t sign Letsoalo because they needed his goals for the club’s stability.
“We are humbled to be in that position, especially in the elite league,” she told TimesLIVE.
“Yes, in the GladAfrica Championship we were a competitive side but we never thought we could be so competitive in the elite league and be in that position as well. It’s amazing.
“We came in four days before the start of the season and we didn’t have all the players together for pre-season. We were saved by the grace of the Fifa international fixtures week which enabled us to assemble the team.”
“This season was to stabilise the team and make sure we don’t get relegated. The next season the original plan was to make sure we finish in the Top 8 and in the third year we were going to compete for the league title.
“I think we are in line to exceed our expectations we were hoping for this season. The plan was to stabilise the team, hence we didn’t sell Victor Letsoalo when everyone was gunning for him. We can’t allow our team to be destabilised.”
Mkhize also revealed that she thinks keeping players from their GladAfrica Championship team is the reason for the club’s success this campaign.
“I think our success comes from us not giving up on the players who came with us from GladAfrica (Championship) and who were looking forward to being in the elite league,” she added.
“By not dumping them completely, and (making sure) the integration of those players coming from GladAfrica with the players were coming from Celtic, who were more experienced, works well.
“It’s a combination of inexperienced players who are hungry to play and the players who are experienced, who are also not so pompous about what they know in the football industry but they just want to play.”
Royal AM return to action on Sunday when they will host relegation-threatened Swallows at the Chatsworth Stadium.
