FEELING THE PINCH: John Maduka acknowledges the weight of Fifa imposed transfer ban on Royal AM

In recent games, the KwaZulu-Natal side have gone four games without a win and suffered three successive defeats at the hands of Orlando Pirates, SuperSport United, and relegation-threatened Cape Town Spurs.

Royal AM are approximately 11 months into their transfer ban and appears to be now impacting Maduka’s team, as he laments the lack of depth in his squad.

Thwihli Thwahla’s financial transgressions against former players Samir Nurkovic and Ricardo Nascimento resulted in two separate transfer bans imposed by football governing body Fifa.

As a result, Royal AM were unable to make any reinforcements in the last two transfer windows.

“We did not sign any players and these are the players who we have. When you look at the previous seasons and you check who are the players who played in each and every match, you will find out that maybe it is Thabo Matlaba and Kabelo Mahlasela, but there are not many of them,” said Maduka. 

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“We have most of the players who could play two or three games. Most of them are not used to playing up to 25 games [in a season]. Most of the players who we have are those who used to come in as a substitute and play two games then they disappear and come back again.

“Now they are playing week-in week-out, maybe that is why we have been having inconsistencies in so many games.

“When you have whatever you have, you just try to work on it. But it is really hard. You can start feeling that the ban, especially with the players who we have, are not seasoned players. But there is nothing that we can do,” Maduka added.

The veteran mentor went on to lament the defeat against the Urban Warriors as Ernst Middendorp kept their hopes of making the relegation playoffs alive.

Spurs ground a 1-0 win at the Harry Gwala Stadium, courtesy of a Michael Gabriel spot kick just after the hour mark.

“We were not at our best and with games like these, you think you are okay, everything is fine and you are trying to look for a goal, and then something happens and then it was a penalty.

“I don’t know how it came about. I hope it was something real because those things decided the match. But I am very disappointed with the result,” Maduka explained. 

Currently, in position 11, Maduka’s outfit will take on DStv Premiership champions Mamelodi Sundowns in back-to-back encounters. The first match will be staged in the capital city on May 11 and the reverse fixture is set to play at the Harry Gwala Stadium on May 14.