The AmaZulu duo of Lehlohonolo Majoro and Keagan Buchanan has shared lessons picked from watching over 100 PSL players across different teams axed.
When the 2021/22 season ended, PSL clubs parted ways with several players in mass clear-outs. Usuthu, Sekhukhune, Kaizer Chiefs, Maritzburg and Venda Football Academy led from the front.
Most of the players shown the exit door were senior players who had been in the game for a while.
Usuthu forward Majoro survived the chop by the skin of his teeth, having struggled for game time under coach Benni McCarthy.
The former Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs striker feels the latest trend of releasing players proved that in football, nothing is guaranteed, and you must always show up to survive. “It shows that no one is guaranteed game time, whether you’re old or young. You must always show hunger at every chance you get.
“Unfortunately, we lost our teammates. It was an eye opener that you must always make every opportunity useful, judging on the players also brought in, the competition is very tough,” he said.
Another former Chiefs player, Buchanan, echoed Majoro’s sentiments, adding that as players, they must also be honest with themselves and what happened was just a wake-up call. “As Major said, nothing is guaranteed. If you look at this transfer, there’s a trend where senior players are losing jobs. I feel like it is never a good thing for anyone to lose their jobs; it also tells us we must always show up because football is a business at the end of the day; as players, we must never forget that we must keep our jobs,” he said.
Ironically, the Durban outfit signed some players whom Chiefs offloaded. Ramahlwe Mphahlele and Dumisani Zuma joined them after parting ways with Amakhosi. Gabadinho Mhango joined them from Pirates after a difficult season under co-coaches Mandla Ncikazi and Fadlu Davids.
RELATED STORY: A look at PSL top-12 free agents’ log table
