Ever since he made the switch to Royal AM from TS Galaxy, Shaune Mogaila has never looked back and continues to impress at the KwaZulu-Natal outfit. By his own admission, the versatile player is having the best time of his career, having played most games than he has ever done before at any of his previous clubs. The 27-year-old isn't planning to slow down and is hoping to help the Shauwn Mkhize-owned outfit to greater heights in the near future. In this interview with Soccer Laduma's Masebe Qina, the midfielder talks about the season so far and the disappointing results earlier on until the return of John Maduka as head coach. In addition, the Limpopo-born star looks back at the team's disappointing big loss against defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns in their most recent match, while he also discusses their chances in the Nedbank Cup quarter-final fixture against Kaizer Chiefs. How does it feel to have a club chairman as a teammate? Read on…
Masebe Qina: How have you found things at Royal AM since joining the club in January last year?
Shaune Mogaila: First and foremost, I would like to say to you I appreciate that you have taken the time to call me to talk about the progress I am making in my career. I have been here for almost a seasonand-a-half since I joined from TS Galaxy and I have enjoyed every step of the way. When I joined the club, I was injured and it took me a bit of time to start playing and I needed a little bit of time to shake off the injury, but I'm happy that I have played most of the games since I started playing for Royal AM. I think by far, I have played most of the games here than I have done in my career at my previous clubs. I think I have played most games here than I did at TS Galaxy and Highlands Park respectively. But coming here, I wanted to have as much game-time as I possibly could because at my previous club, I didn't have much of game-time. Yeah, man, it's been great because I have been getting some game-time.
MQ: Consistency has evidently been the name of the game for you, having featured in 22 out of 23 matches for the team so far this season. What has worked for you?
SM: I would say it is the work-rate, commitment and the dedication. The work ethic does it for me, I think. I am a team player and I do everything to try and help the team and that has helped me. We are all trying to help the team and each and every one of us know our different roles to help the club to achieve its objectives. We understand each other and that is making it easy for us to do things the way they are supposed to be done.
MQ: Before the return of John Maduka as the club's head coach, the team looked to be struggling in terms of getting positive results. What has the Malawian done to change the situation?
SM: That's a good question because we didn't do well in the first round of the season. Yes, the change of personnel in coaches seems to have worked for us because the players now seem to understand what needs to be done. So much has changed and even the line-up has changed. We struggled earlier on because the line-up was not consistent as well. Each and every week, we had to make changes in the playing personnel because of our involvement in (the) CAF (Confederation Cup). We were involved in the cup games (MTN8) as well and we had to freshen up the squad at all times. Also, last season was our first season in the league. But we were happy with the experience we gained in CAF and how things are done there. Playing in that competition was something new for most of us and we were happy to be involved. Having said that, it wasn't like we were a bad team, we were a good team still, but it's just that we needed that balance In most of the times, we needed to rotate the players and stuff because of injuries and so on. We had so many injuries and some of the players were out for some time and that led to the imbalance in the team in terms of consistency and so on. We were not consistent, and we had to reshuffle the squad frequently.
MQ: In your most recent game, Royal AM were defeated 5-1 by Mamelodi Sundowns. What happened?
SM: It was a really disappointing result for every one of us. By that, I mean it was disappointing for us players, management and the supporters. Having said that, we did have chances of our own, but we couldn't take them. If you can go back to check that game, in the first 10 minutes we could have scored two goals. We had clear-cut chances that could have changed the complexion of the game. Had we converted those chances and led by two goals to nil, the game could have gone any way. After those chances we missed, they created their own chances and they used them to score. We ended up making mistakes and they kept on converting their chances. In total, they had six shots and five of those were on target. I checked the stats after the game and I think we probably had seven chances and we only converted one. That was the difference: Sundowns took their chances and we didn't take ours. Sundowns is not a team that you can make mistakes against because when you do, they will punish you. Even their first goal, it was from our mistake of not organising very well (at the back), and if we had done better in terms of organising, the game could have gone differently.
MQ: How difficult is it to play against them?
SM: Sundowns is very good overall. But they are a team as well, like all the other teams in the league. Individually, they have some good players, but like I say, if we had scored those two goals, the complexion of the game could have been different. But them using their chances to score the goals they scored showed the quality they have. Their confidence is on another level because they have been doing very well and they have been consistent. As much as they build up slowly, they can move a lot within certain periods during the game. When you play against them, you need to be always aware of what is happening around you so that they cannot catch you off-guard or anything like that because if they do, they can punish you. They utilise their chances.
MQ: What do you think of the draw of the Nedbank Cup quarterfinals, where you face off against Kaizer Chiefs, whom you've given a lot of tough times in the past, albeit having lost to them in your most recent meeting?
SM: I think it's going to be a tough game and I still remember the game we played against Chiefs in the league in Polokwane, which we lost 2-0. Before that, I think we beat them 1-0, so I think even this one is going to be a tough game. The good thing is that it's our home game and it being a cup game makes it very interesting because there should be a winner at the end of the game. We will have to do the best we can to do well against them at home.
MQ: How has the support towards the team been from club president Shauwn Mkhize?
SM: The support has been great. We were not doing well during the first round of the season, like I said, but the support has always been there. That helped us in changing things as we have been getting the results lately. It wasn't easy, but she has always been there for us and supporting us all the way. Losing is never nice and not just for us but for the supporters and our families and the management. We are hoping to go forward and do our level best to improve as a team. In the last seven games in the league, we will do our level best to get maximum points so that we can finish in the best possible position on the log. But we will take each and every game as it comes and we will try to do well.
MQ: Some people may think it can be intimidating to have a club chairman training and playing with you guys sometimes, as Andile Mpisane has been doing. What has it been like to have him around?
SM: It's not intimidating. He plays football and sometimes he plays with the DDC (DStv Diski Challenge) team and he trains with us sometimes. But it is not intimidating to have him around, like I say. For some reason, I have been expecting this question. The chairman has been playing football even before the team was in the topflight.
MQ: Do you feel the pressure to pass the ball to him?
SM: No, I don't. You know that in football you play the game according to what the game demands. In a game of football, you only pass to where you think someone is going to be more effective in terms of us scoring the goals and so on. So, yeah, that's how it is, there is no pressure to pass to an individual in football. You just have to pass to someone to help the team to go forward. I'm sure he would be the first one to ask why I didn't pass the ball to a player in a good scoring position than him, because he also wants to see the team win.
MQ: Shaune, let's leave it there, brother. Good luck for the rest of the season!
SM: Thank you.
SHAUNE MOGAILA FACT FILE
Full name: Shaune Mokete Mogaila
Date of birth: 17 June 1995
Place of birth: Polokwane, Limpopo
Nickname: Lindo
Position: Midfielder
Jersey number: 17
Club: Royal AM
Previous clubs: Mpumalanga Black Aces juniors, University of Johannesburg
Honours: None
