Johannesburg - SuperSport United coach Kaitano Tembo believes that the absence of fans has affected the consistency of football teams.
Since the start of the pandemic, the vast majority of top-flight South African teams have not been at their best. This is best reflected by the fact that Mamelodi Sundowns convincingly won the league title last season.
With a 15-point advantage atop the league standings, Masandawana are also almost certain to win a fifth consecutive league title in convincing fashion this season.
“The game is not the same without fans. Since the pandemic started, it has been difficult. This is also why there is a lack of consistency in terms of performances. Fans bring drive to the players which adds motivation. We’d really appreciate it if our fans can come back and start watching us. The game is not the same without them,” said Tembo, ahead of his team’s Nedbank Cup Round of 16 clash against Platinum City Rovers on Saturday afternoon.
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SuperSport will be expected to convincingly beat Rovers. However, familiar faces that they could be playing against include former Sundowns player Oupa Manyisa and their own former player Thabiso Nkoana.
Meanwhile, Matsatsantsa witnessed the return of key player Sipho Mbule in their last game against AmaZulu. Mbule missed several games for his side between December and this month amidst speculation linking him with an exit from the club. Tembo was unable to confirm whether the 23-year-old would be leaving the club at the end of the season but did hail the central midfielder for his professionalism.
“Sipho has been doing well in training and working really hard. We’ve been supportive of him because we know he is a talented youngster. It is our duty to guide him so that he is not lost to South African football. His attitude in training has been really good but he’s lacking in terms of match fitness. He will build his match fitness gradually and we don’t want to push him too much as well. Soon we will start seeing the Mbule that we all know,” said Tembo.
Tembo confirmed that captain and goalkeeper Ronwen Williams is injured.
“Ronwen has a slight knock. We will evaluate him throughout the week to see how it goes. The signs are not looking okay. Hopefully our medical team can do wonders to make sure that he is available for the weekend. Jamie Webber will miss the game through suspension. Those are the only two absentees that we have. Everyone else is available,” said Tembo.