Former Marumo Gallants coach Dan 'Dance' Malesela has his concerns about the position of hard-working Ndabayithethwa Ndlondlo at Orlando Pirates.
Malesela worked well with Ndlondo during his first stint as the coach of Gallants and contributed to his improvement in performances which led to the midfielder being signed by Pirates.
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Since his arrival at Pirates last year, Ndlondlo has made notable progress as he has been getting game time and producing sublime performances under coach Jose Riveiro, having made eight appearances in all competitions so far this season and scored one goal plus two assists.
Asked about the player's progress since joining the Soweto giants, Malesela said, "All good and well. I just got worried when they played him as a six, or a shared six. But it's the preference of the coach and you cannot criticise him for that but I'm worried."
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The mentor is hoping that Ndlondlo doesn't end up in a similar situation like that of Xola Mlambo who didn't play as much as he was expected to at the Buccaneers.
"The same thing happened to Xola Mlambo, and it was the because of him being denied playing time because he is not a six. These guys are more influential when they play further up the field. Maybe that's what they (Pirates technical team) saw, and maybe that's how he (Ndlondlo) understands things now but these guys are more effective when they play closer to the scoring areas. I'm just not sure if he can sustain this thing of playing as six," concluded Malesela.
