Rulani Mokwena insists Thembinkosi Lorch has settled in well at Mamelodi Sundowns with the attacker primed to deliver for his new club.
Lorch signed for Sundowns on the deadline day of the January transfer window period.
He arrived from Sundowns’ rivals Orlando Pirates where the player had joined eight years ago as a little-known youngster and left as a fan favourite.
The 30-year-old winger earned his second DStv Premiership start when Masandawana defeated Chippa United 2-0 to get closer to their seventh successive league title.
Lorch’s first start for Sundowns was in the 1-1 draw against former club Pirates and he is yet to start in the Caf Champions League or Nedbank Cup.
Speaking about the decision to start with Lorch against Chippa, Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena said the star now feels at home in the new environment.
“He is ready now,” Mokwena told the media after the Saturday match at Lucas Moripe Stadium.
“He is ready, I see him in the changing room.
“There are a lot of things (he needed to adjust to), he comes from a team where he is established as a hierarchy because of the number of years,” Mokwena explained.
“So, in the changing room, he had a position in the dynamics within the (Pirates’) group.
“He comes into Sundowns’ changing room and he has got history and the profile. But has got to establish himself in the (Sundowns’) hierarchy, the structure and the dynamics within the group,” the coach said.
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“And of course, Lorch with his personality, I know because I’ve worked with him (before at Pirates), I know when he is settled and when he is not.
“When he arrived, I could see by looking at his body language, and now I can see he is a little more upbeat and enthusiastic.
“He has got a spring in his step and that’s what I was waiting for. You can’t rush that.
“It’s small things, and you can see how he interacts with the ones on top of the food chain, in every team you’ve got that.”
Mokwena said Lorch has earned the trust of his new teammates and has become part of the Sundowns core group.
“Now you can see he gets their trust, and they accept him into the group. He is smiling, he connects the passes. He is in the group, he is trusted and given the ball even in tight spaces and that’s because he has earned their trust.
“For Lorch, I think now he is in the core group and that’s what we brought him here for.”
Sundowns will continue the mission to wrap up the league title race as early as possible when they host SuperSport United in the Tshwane derby at Loftus Stadium in Pretoria on Tuesday at 19:30.
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