Dorego's Revolving Blog

08 November 2012

This week we hear from Davies Nkausu of SuperSport United.

We deserved the 2-0 Telkom Knockout win over Maritzburg United. In the first half we dominated the game, but I’m not saying Maritzburg were bad. They were good, it’s just that on the day we worked very hard. I mean, in the first half we dominated and in the second half we dropped a bit, but still, we didn’t give up the fight until we started scoring the goals.

 

Ja facing Mamelodi Sundowns in the semis, you know, for us, after beating Maritzburg, we didn’t care who we were going to meet. Whoever we were going to face after the draw, we were just going to take the game as it comes. We beat Sundowns in the Nedbank Cup final and obviously that is still on their minds. They will be coming out for revenge and we know that. We aren’t going to be complacent. From the word go we are going to switch on, knowing that they are going to come and try to beat us. 

 

I can say we started the league badly and I can also say we didn’t start badly because we’ve got a lot of new players and they have to adapt to the way SuperSport plays. I think we are doing well because we aren’t losing. If we had lost two of those eight games, then I would say we didn’t start well. But we’re drawing games and it’s just that we are lacking a bit of hard work in the last third. Things will come together because, at the moment, we’re working very hard. We’re going to start winning now because this thing of SuperSport drawing too much is affecting all the guys. It’s not good! If we win two or three games we’re back on top, which is good. Last season we drew so many games in a row and we don’t want that to happen again. Like I said, if we win two or three games in succession, we are going to catch up. 

 

I’ve started five league games, playing in different positions, but for me I don’t mind where I play. If I play left back and I’m doing the job, it’s fine for me. If I play right back and I’m doing the job, it’s fine for me. I think I’ve started well compared to the other seasons where I was more on the bench or in the stands. I just thank God that I’m playing more games this season than in the previous seasons. I know that as a player you will always have your ups and downs, but at the moment I’m just happy with the way I’m playing and the way I’m committed to the club. Whichever position the coach puts me in, I know that I’m not going to disappoint and I’ll work hard and do the job. As players, that’s our job. I don’t know why sometimes we complain, but if you can do the job, why not?

 

When we lose, we lose as a team, and when we win, we win as a team. I think the strikers must pull up their socks and start scoring more goals because scoring goals makes you win games. If you don’t score, you don’t win. If we as defenders were conceding many goals, the blame would be on us...why so many goals conceded…A, B, C, D? We can’t blame the strikers, but somewhere somehow they just need to pull up their socks and start scoring. 

 

If you look at this league, there are no underdogs, especially this season. Who knew that Sundowns would be where they are today? No one! You know what I mean? This shows that the league is tough and all the teams are the best in their own right. You can lose to whoever you’re playing against. It’s all about the mindset and approach to the game. We are facing Chiefs on Saturday, but I’m writing this column on Monday evening and we aren’t thinking about Chiefs. 

 

I think it’s the coach, man, us doing well in cup competition. Our coach is one of those coaches who hates losing! If you look at the way he hates to lose, as a player you don’t want to disappoint him. We give all the glory to the coach because he pushes us hard. He will tell you point blank, “You know what? You aren’t doing your job. Pull up your socks!” For you as a player, that’s great! If a coach is telling you straight to your face that you’re not doing A, B, C or D, he doesn’t hate you. He loves you. He wants you to work. When you see the way he handles a loss, as a player you have to make sure you try your best not to disappoint him because he’s our boss. 

 

The bust-up between Hunt and Zuma, it’s football, man...come on! In football, if you’re not shouting or if you talk to your teammates like you’re talking to your friend at a dinner table, then it’s not going to work. In football you need to be demanding. You know how we soccer players can sometimes relax, so you need someone to wake you up and tell you straight what you’re doing wrong. If you look at the incident that happened in the final of the Afcon where the coach pushed me and all that... I didn’t take it in the wrong way. I knew that, okay, this guy is waking me up, he sees that I’m sleeping. That’s all I can say. 

 

To the fans, they mustn’t give up on us because we are their team and they must just keep supporting us. I know we’ve been drawing games, but at least we’re not losing and we’ve got a chance to catch up if we win two or three games in a row.   

 

Davies Nkausu, 

SuperSport United