Orlando Pirates winger Deon Hotto says he’d like to sort things out with Thembinkosi Lorch and defended certain criticisms of the Bucs Camp production.
The experienced Pirates player took centre stage in their latest edition of Bucs camp which was a rollercoaster of emotions in their four-part series of the 2023/24 season.
His relationship with Lorch, or lack thereof, took centre stage and it’s been suggested the pair did not see eye to eye, with allegations of jealousy of Hotto’s arrival and becoming an integral part of the club after his lucrative move from the now defunct Bidvest Wits.
Lorch, at the time, was struggling to find consistency in the starting line-up due to niggling injuries and in the production, discussed by Hotto, Paseka Mako and Bandile Shandu, suggestions of factions within the camp were created due to the frosty relationship.
“There’s no relationship [with Lorch], he’s not here anymore, and actually I had to settle this with him but it was about time the league was finishing, I went to the national team for AFCON and while I was on the other side, I heard he was leaving,” Hotto said.
“So we haven’t actually met or sat down just to [talk things out], most definitely [I would want to sort things out], I will.”
Hotto went on to defend the club and its media team for letting supporters in on what transpires behind the scenes, with sections of social media stating it could do more harm than good, and the incident in question was a character assassination due to the story being told without Lorch’s version of events.
The star playmaker went on to leave the club on the January transfer deadline day for a shock move to Mamelodi Sundowns, which in a sense ended the need for what some of his teammates believed was an unreparable fallout.
“These things behind the scenes, so not everyone knows this, it’s not just about showing the good of us out there, but there’s a lot of fights in the changing rooms, training, it’s an eye-opener for people to know, it’s not just coming to training, go home, come to a match, go home, we have fights also… so it’s like just in every company,” he explained.
“For me there’s nothing wrong with [showing the controversial side of Bucs camp], there’s nothing wrong, even if you the captain of the team, it doesn’t mean we can’t fight, there’s just moments, the blood is hot, sometimes you say something…
“And later when you get home you’re like ‘no man, argh, I shouldn’t have said this’, so it’s the heat of the moment at times, none of us want to lose so there will be fighting, there will be fights.
“Maybe you wanted Xoki to pass you the ball and he decided to kick it. You say this maybe in a harsh way and then it’s taken as a [fight].”
