Orlando Pirates midfielder Makhehlene Makhaula seems to have found the winning formula, or at least the best approach to knock Mamelodi Sundowns off their perch in the DStv Premiership.
The Pirates midfield enforcer, together with his teammates, bore the brunt of out-performing every other team in the DStv Premiership, except Sundowns over the last two seasons where the Buccaneers finished second on the log.
The league is a 30-game marathon, but Makhaula has advised his team to sprint the first few laps and take an early advantage in the title chase which Sundowns have got their noses across the the finish line in the last seven Premiership editions.
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“If we can win 10 games in a row, I think we can challenge for the league. The league is not about Sundowns or Chiefs, there are other teams that we need to beat, so we cannot concentrate on the big teams only. The small teams, when they play us, they get motivated,” said Makhaula.
Pirates, along with teams like Stellenbosch and TS Galaxy are counted among campaigners who have been improving gradually in recent seasons.
The Soweto giants lifted the Nedbank Cup and MTN8 in back-to-back seasons, and when you Pirates’ biggest counterparts, Kaizer Chiefs – things are not so rosy.
Amakhosi will enter a 10th straight season without winning any silverware. Originally, it became a sweet melody when your arch rivals were the joke of the town, but Makhaula was not bothered by the dismal state of Chiefs, who recently restructured their technical team led by Naresddine Nabi.
“When you have a house you have to look at what is happening in your house and don’t look at the other houses, just focus on yours and everything will be fine.
“We just have to focus on getting points and focus on achieving bigger things this season,” said Makhaula, who will celebrate his 35th birthday in November.
The former AmaZulu kingpin spent the majority of his career with the Free State Stars and never imagined he would have his big break in the furthermost part of his playing days.
