Orlando Pirates forward Boitumelo Radiopane has shared his thoughts on the early-season criticism regarding his frequent starts.
The 23-year-old was a regular in the starting line-up of Abdeslam Ouaddou when the season began, starting the first three matches that the Buccaneers played.
Questions arose over why he was preferred over Evidence Makgopa and Tshegofatso Mabasa, the established forwards who had been leading the line in recent seasons.
Radiopane says his hard work in training earned him the starting spot, noting that people are unaware of the effort he put into preparing for matches.
Unfortunately, an injury disrupted his run, keeping him out for the majority of the first round.
“To answer your question, I think not everyone sees the work that we do at training,” said Radiopane on SNAWA on Metro FM.
“It [starting matches] came as a surprise to a lot of people, asking themselves why I’m starting.
“So, people don’t understand that everything starts at training but as I always say we always supporting each other in the team.
“Like with Makgopa, he’s my friend and we support each other when anyone of us is playing or not playing but also I was disturbed by injuries, I struggled with my hamstring after my third game that’s why it took time to come back.”
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