Tebogo 'Messi' Tlolane has opened up about his lack of game-time at Orlando Pirates – a situation that led to his loan to Maritzburg United.
The 25-year-old was loaned to the Team of Choice in January after making only one substitute appearance of under 10 minutes for the Buccaneers in the first half of the season.
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Tlolane had been outstanding for Maritzburg in matches he played under Eric Tinkler, before the Coronavirus pandemic break.
"If I'm honest, I get asked this question a lot. If I'm brutally honest I won't have the most precise answer. The only thing that I can say is that I was working hard, I was doing the best that I can and I have to also understand that the coach can only pick 11 players to start and the ones to be on the bench," said Tlolane about his lack of game-time at Bucs.
Tlolane made a whopping 29 league starts for Chippa United in the 2018/19 season, as he missed only the last match of the campaign against Kaizer Chiefs and owing to suspension, before his move to Bucs.
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The versatile player amassed 34 appearances – all starts, as he played in all the other matches for the Chilli Boys in his first season in the top flight.
"It was very, very difficult period when I wasn't playing. It was the first time in my career that I've been out for so long without playing. But I restructured myself and I continued to work and I continued to build my character more mentally as I had to be mentally strong. I built myself mentally to prepare for anything, provided that I got an opportunity to play at Pirates, or provided that I got an opportunity to come and play for another team," Tlolane told the Siya crew.
Check out Siyabonga Nomvethe's career in images
