Mabasa aims for goal improvement as Orlando Pirates prepare for new season

The passage of time has taught Tshegofatso Mabasa to embrace pressure and brotherhood, so that’s why he’s focused on helping Orlando Pirates do well next season.

Mabasa scored fifteen goals in 48 games last season, and that was an average return after he netted nineteen goals in 33 matches the season before.

So, as the new season beckons, Mabasa will be eager to improve his numbers upfront by contributing to as many goals as he possibly can for the team. However, the 28-year-old admits that he’s not fazed by the responsibility as it’s part and parcel of the job.

“The older I get, the less worried I am about pressure,” the striker said during the premiere of Pirates’ docu-series Giants, last week. “You can’t perform well without pressure.”

Being able to handle pressure hasn’t come naturally for Mabasa. He has to feed off the support of his teammates and technical team as well.

As such, when he went through a rough patch last season, resulting in him losing his place in the starting berth, it was his replacement, Evidence Makgopa, who offered him more support. So, that’s why Mabasa doesn’t look at the rest of the strikers at Pirates as his direct competitors, but rather as brothers.

“One thing about us is that there’s healthy competition. You can actually see when we are doing finishing drills after training, the amount of support and love we share (is there),” he said.

“Take Evidence, for example, he’s one person that knows almost everything that I’ve to deal with last season. Yet that time he was playing ahead of me.

“He supported me, and was there to try and lift me up. He’ll be the first one to areye ngwana (let’s go, kid). So, that’s the sort of thing. I’d do the same thing for him as well.

“So that shows the relationship we have in the team. I think when ‘Radio’ (Boitumelo Radiopane) scored his first goal, a penalty, everyone ran to him, including myself.”

The camaraderie within the Pirates teams runs in the entire group as the new players have quickly fitted in like a glove as well, following an exclusive tour of Spain.

“I think the trip to Spain gave us a chance to integrate them, and maybe away from all the noise in the country at that time,” said Mabasa of the adaptation of the new players.

“For us to be away, and be given that opportunity, I think it worked well because you can see how they performed even in the friendly games.

“Look at (Sipho) Mbule and (Oswin) Appollis’ performances in the friendlies. It’s just now for them to come back home, and do it here. We believe in them and they have our support.”

Mabasa and Co have new coach Abdeslam Ouaddou who has to support them and be supported as well.

Ouaddou's job is cut out for him as he has to make the team tick on the field, following the arrival of eleven new players, while getting results as well.

The Moroccan-born coach replaces Jose Riveiro who won five trophies and bagged three successive runners-up spots in the league during his three-year reign.

Mabasa, though, believes that the former Fulham defender will succeed at the club as he hasn't done much to change the foundation that has been built by his predecessor.

“I have noticed that he’s a demanding coach, but he loves his players at the same time,” said Mabasa of his impression about Ouaddou.

“He’s encouraging, and quite similar to coach Riveiro. There’s not a lot that coach Ouaddou is trying to change – it’s probably about defending set-pieces and dealing with transition.

“He’s just trying to improve on the areas that we lacked last season, and we feel that’s mostly from set-pieces, especially looking at the game we lost against Pyramids.”

The camaraderie within the Pirates team runs in the entire group as the new players have quickly fitted in like a glove as well, following an exclusive tour of Spain.

“I think the trip to Spain gave us a chance to integrate them, and maybe away from all the noise in the country at that time,” said Mabsa of the adaptation of the new players.

“For us to be away, and be given that opportunity, I think it worked well because you can see how they performed even in the friendly games. 

“Look at (Sipho) Mbule and (Osowin) Appollis’ performances in the friendlies. It’s just now for them to come back home, and do it here. We believe in them and they have our support.”

Mabasa and Co have new coach Abdeslam Ouaddou who has to support them and be supported as well.

Ouaddou's job is cut out for him as he has to make the team tick on the field, following the arrival of 11 new players, while getting results as well.

The Moroccan born coach replaces Jose Riveiro who won five trophies and bagged three successive runners-up spots in the league during his three year reign.

Mabasa, though, believes that the former Fulham defender will succeed at the club as he hasn't done much to change the foundation that has been built by his predecessor.

“I have noticed that he’s a demanding coach, but he loves his players at the same time,” said Mabasa of his impression about Ouaddou.

“He’s encouraging, and quite similar to coach Riveiro. There’s not a lot that coach Ouaddou is trying to change - it’s probably about defending setpieces and dealing with transition.

“He’s just trying to improve on the areas that we lacked last season, and we feel that’s mostly from set-pieces, especially looking at the game we lost against Pyramids.”