Lokeren midfielder, Ayanda Patosi, is getting back on track after an improvement in his attitude at the club over the last few weeks, with him even requesting a personal coach.
News doing the rounds in the South African media that quoted Patosi's head coach, Peter Maes, from last month criticising the player for his current plight appear to be old news now, with Lokeren's sporting director, Willy Reynders, saying that he's beginning to get back on track.
Patosi, 21, was once touted as one of the brightest talents in South African football, but has had lots of problems of late due to injuries and fell out of Bafana Bafana favour after missing two flights when called up by Shakes Mashaba.
Speaking to the Siya crew, Reynders explained that they took the winger to one side after the Bafana debacle, he said, "Ayanda is really putting in the extra effort now. After his last travel to South Africa he came back we had a talk with him and his manager as we thought it was necessary. We spoke about a new start for him and over the last weeks he's been a lot better, his behaviour has been great and I hope that he now understands where he is and that's important for the next three months that he keeps that way."
Reynders also confirmed that Patosi requested a personal coach to help him with his efforts during the recent international break, and says the club is committed to helping the 'talented' player.
He added, "I will have results regarding his weight and it's certainly going in the right direction and hope he can keep turning the corner. He's a very big talent that played very well for us before his injuries. I can see that he now understands what he needs to do to come back to the right level. We want to do everything we can for him."
Patosi has managed to grab a couple of goals for Lokeren's reserve team since returning from his latest injury, and even made his UEFA Europa League debut when coming on in the 1-0 defeat to Legia Warsaw last month.
