Royal AM co-coach Abram ‘Wire’ Nteo says chairman-turned-player Andile Mpisane is putting in extra-shifts because he wants to play for the club more regularly.
Nteo saw his side lose 3-1 to SuperSport United in Tshwane, while co-coach Kabo Zondo was absent from the squad.
Club president Shauwn ‘Ma’ Mkhize had told iDiski Times that Zondo stayed behind at the Royal AM ranch to prepare the other half of the squad ahead of their CAF Confederations Cup second preliminary round clash with ZESCO United on Sunday, leaving Nteo alone in charge after Dan Malesela also resigned to return to Marumo Gallants a few weeks ago.
After Mpisane made a bench appearance in the 1-0 defeat against Richards Bay and even took to the field for a few minutes in the Macufe Cup against Kaizer Chiefs, Nteo has discussed the chairman’s attempts to play.
“We treat him as a player when he is at the field of play,” Nteo said in his post-match press conference, as shared by LimSportsZone.
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“We push him like each and every player that we push, we don’t regard him as a chairman when we work with him on the field.
“But to be honest, he is pushing himself, he’s even doing the extra work at training.
“You can see he wants to play, so we are happy with the process.”
The 21-year-old Mpisane, who has previously been lauded as a ‘skilful’ player by former coaches at Royal AM and Royal Eagles, made three appearances in the second-tier but has yet to make the pitch in the top-flight since they bought the status of Bloemfontein Celtic.
Royal AM, meanwhile, suffered their fourth defeat of the season and dropped to sixth place ahead of Wednesday’s DStv Premiership games.
