Patrick Maswanganyi says he is too old to be disappointed with his first-half substitution against Mamelodi Sundowns after coming up with a Man of the Match display against ORBIT College.
Maswanganyi was taken off after 37 minutes in the MTN8 semi-final second leg against Sundowns, with Pirates eventually winning on penalties.
He returned to the starting XI against ORBIT and was named Man of the Match after the hard-fought win, saying coach Ouaddou spoke to him after the early sub.
“I think it’s the love that I get from my teammates, they make sure that I push, I think they know that as long as I’m here I’m going to work hard for them,” he told SuperSport TV.
“During the week, the game that we played against Mamelodi Sundowns it was a difficult game but I got over it because the coach spoke to me.
“I had to understand that the decision that he made – I had to understand it’s not personal, it’s a tactical decision and we knew it’s going to help us during the game.
“So tonight I had to come and play, and I did well.”
Maswanganyi also insisted that he is too experienced to get shaken by instances like the early substitution by his coach.
“I think I’m very old to get disappointed, I think you need to man up and you need to show the younger ones that even though the coach does a decision you think is bad, but it’s good for the team, as long as the team is winning and we know what we’re working towards,” he added.
It was Maswanganyi’s first Man of the Match award of the season and he promised the fans more will come.
“It means a lot. Last season I didn’t even get one, so yeah I’m working very hard to collect more. It’s not the first and not the end,” he concluded.
