Royal AM General Manager Richards Makhoba insists his team is ready for a tough Premier Soccer League outing against Orlando Pirates on Thursday.
Thwihli Thwahla have been facing off-pitch struggles; they were put under curatorship by the South African Revenue Services owing to their R40 million tax debt. Their last game in the Premier Soccer League was on December 29 against TS Galaxy.
On January 5, they were scheduled to play Chippa United but the fixture was brought forward. There were reports that the club has released several players ahead of the game against the Buccaneers that will be played at the Harry Gwala Stadium.
However, Makhoba insists that is not the case; he has revealed the number of players who had been signed ahead of the crucial outing, playing down the negative impact of their Fifa transfer ban.
Royal AM are minus one player but…
“The question that everyone is asking is whether we are ready, and I can tell you we are ready and we have a squad of 37 players,” he told SABC Sport.
Makhoba further stated losing the 35-year-old Mxolisi Macupu to Richards Bay on a free transfer is not a major concern, “We are minus one player, Mr Mxolisi Macupu. He was released because of his performance, and if you look at his age, he is a lot older and he was not cutting it into the team.
“He approached us asking to be released so that he can go find a team where he can play and the club agreed. I need to also address the notion that people think because of the FIFA ban we do not have depth.”
Pirates game is a motivation
“But the depth in our squad is amazing. I am speaking to you now – I have 37 players registered with our league. These players, week in and out, are players that make up the squad. If you look at my strikers, I have more than five all in top form,” he continued.
“The Pirates game is motivation on its own because we are coming up against a team that has done so well in the CAF Champions League and we urge our supporters to come in their numbers.”
Royal AM are currently placed 15th on the table with just eight points from nine league outings. They hope to get a positive result against second-placed Bucs to get out of the relegation zone.
