Defender Austin Dube says he tried all he could to change his struggles at Kaizer Chiefs since such chances to play for the biggest club are rare in football.
Dube, who was signed by Chiefs from Richards Bay ahead of the 2021/22 season, struggled to find his feet in the side and Amakhosi decided to let him go at the end of last season despite the defender still having a year left to run in his contract after agreeing to a settlement.
The former TS Galaxy defender featured in 18 matches in all competitions in those two seasons, 17 in the first campaign and one last season.
Dube was signed by Amakhosi after he started all 30 matches for Bay in the Motsepe Foundation Championship in 2020/21.
He even scored for Bay as they knocked Chiefs out of the Nedbank Cup in the first round of that season at FNB Stadium, rising highest to knock the ball at the back post to enhance his reputation of being signed by Chiefs at the end.
He was also called up for the Bafana Bafana squad for COSAFA Cup at the end of that term, and won the regional tournament in Port Elizabeth without South Africa’s makeshift squad conceding a goal.
Chiefs coach Stuart Baxter, who was Amakhosi coach then, was looking to emulate the system that worked for him in winning the league title in 2014/15 season, having a left-sided centre-back in Dube. The coach was looking for someone like Tefu Mashamaite, who was brilliant in that title-winning squad for Chiefs alongside Erick Mathoho.
Dube, though, could not give Chiefs and Baxter what they hoped for, and with the club struggling to get results, the coach could not finish the 2021/22 season as he was sacked.
“I tried my level best to change the situation,” said Dube to iDiski Times about his time at Naturena.
“You always want to reach the higher level in football and I did everything – being professional even off the field, everything, at training, just everything.”
When it was put to him that his stay at Chiefs can be regarded as a failure that things didn’t go well, Dube said that would be too harsh.
“No, I won’t say that,” he responded.
“I never had that mentality of being a failure. I wouldn’t be where I’m or achieve things I have achieved because things didn’t work out well now I’m quitting, no. I have faith something better will come for me again.”
Even when he was given that one start by Chiefs last season against Golden Arrows at Peter Mokaba Stadium, Arthur Zwane’s boys lost, making his situation worse to be trusted.
“It was my first time playing and my performance exceeded my expectations,” said Dube, whose Chiefs side could not hold rampaging duo of Ntsako Makhubela and Knox Mutizwa on that day.
“Unfortunately we lost the game but losing the game doesn’t mean that we were bad, I played well in that game considering I wasn’t playing.”
