Orlando Pirates captain Innocent Maela has touched on the rapid development of Relebohile Mofokeng and Mohau Nkota in the first team.
The 20-year-old duo, more so, Mofokeng, who is the reigning Young Player of the Year in the PSL, has emerged as a key figure in the starting eleven under Jose Riveiro.
Nkota’s emergence has arrived this season and he’s already scored four times, with some specular strikes already in his catalogue.
“A lot of credit must go to the academy, the previous coaches that have worked with them, throughout, but yeah as an individual, you have to give credit to the guys,” Maela said.
“Not only the youngsters but everyone. The humility that we have within the squad, it’s unbelievable and it helps us a lot to grasp new information, and new tactics and for the players to be coachable, [it] helps.
“We believe if we train well, work hard and you are good enough, then you deserve to play – we wish [Rele and Mohau] the best of luck, we are here to support them and they should keep going you know, keep growing, keep their feet on the ground.
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“They need to keep improving, getting better and better, keep being humble – but yeah a lot of credit needs to go to the academy where they come from, the coaches that work with them, we wish they can keep going like that and keep improving.”
Following their 2-1 win in Algiers over CR Belouizdad, they now host Stellenbosch FC at Orlando Stadium in the league on Sunday afternoon.
