Kaizer Chiefs head coach Arhur Zwane has revealed his opinion on Kamohelo Mahlatsi after handing him two consecutive starts in the first-team.
Mahlatsi, 24, joined Chiefs from Swallows in the off-season and has long been considered as a promising talent in South African football.
However, he’s not quite lived up to the lofty expectations that were set when breaking out of the SuperSport United academy nearly a decade ago.
After featuring in just 33 minutes of football, he earned a rare start in the 2-0 win over Golden Arrows on New Years’ Eve and another in the 1-0 defeat to Sekhukhune United.
On both occasions he was hauled off in the second half, with question marks surrounding his display – but Zwane leaped to his defence when asked about his performances.
“When it comes to Mahlatsi, we want to give all of our players the opportunity [to play], because this is a massive team and we want to see which players can deal with the pressure and players who can’t,” Zwane said at FNB Stadium.
“[We] then can know where we are going, so far so good – I think he did well last week and second half I can understand he hasn’t been playing regularly for some time and he was bound to quickly get tired.
“It’s one of those days where we need to keep encouraging the players until we get it right, I’m happy with him, I was a player myself like I said… a player doesn’t need only one chance, two chances to prove himself – unfortunately at some point the competition is stiff.
“If other players are available… this is a game of opportunities and if you are given the opportunities you need to grab it with both hands.”
The skinny midfielder was part of the South African U23 team at the 2021 Tokyo Olympic games.
