We lack con sisten cy

Tshepang Mailwane: Olisa, you were out with an injury for about eight months and your first game back was the MTN8 final against Mamelodi Sundowns in October. How crazy was that?

Olisa Ndah:

Ha, ha, ha.Firstof all, I was really delighted to be back. At tr aining, I was alr eady excited. I was not able to tr ain properly, so I was already excited. Itwas so unfortunate thatI had to come back like thatwith my teammate (Nkosinathi Sibisi) getting injured.Itwas frustrating, butI was happy to be back.

TM: G oing into that final, did you honestly believe you would play, considering you had been out for so long?

OD:

Initially, I did not think I would play. I thought maybe I would have come on atatime we wer e winning and we wer e looking to finish off the game.Initially, I did not think I would be playing.Butitshows thatyou have to be ready.Ittakes alotof strong mentality, belief and discipline because you have to keep yourself prepared. You don’t know when anything can happen. When you are notprepared, itbecomes abad day.I was really prepared because I had acouple of months trying to getback and I worked personally on myself alotin those months.I was pr epar ed.

TM: You say you were working on yourself personally in those months. What exactly did you work on?

OD:

It was not just th e ph ysical side.I worked more on my mental health because in the beginning, I was really frustrated.You know when you are frustrated, you don’t think properly, but I had time to rewind and had time with my family. I knew it was something beyond my control.I tried my best to stay focused.It’s awonderful feeling (being back).I think I was prepared enough.I am justtrying to getback to my old self.I know I am notthere yet.Istill have alotof things to work on, butgradually I will getback to my bestagain.

TM: Does the team provide you with a psychologist or do you, by any chance, have one ofyour own?

OD:

We ar e for tunate enough to be in awonderful team like this because on differentoccasions we’ve had psychologists come to speak to us and if you need extrahelp, you can go meet apsychologist.I personally have my own psychologist and people I talk to and they help me deal with stuff. That’s importantfor me because the job we do is full of ups and downs. If you are mentally weak, it’s going to affectyour game.I try as much as I can to stay away from social media and you hardly see me doing interviews unless the club tells me to.So, I stay away from social mediabecause sometimes itputs abad feeling into us.

TM: The last game you played before the MTN8 final was the Soweto Derby against Kaizer Chiefs in February, in which you scored an own goal. When you came on in the final, did you have any worries about making an error in another big game, especially after being out for so long?

OD:

No, I did notworry aboutthat atall.I putthe own goal thing behind me along time ago because I am not someone who dwells on the past. I was really contentwith myself coming back.I was notreally under pressure, and Iwas notscared of anything. I went into the game to try to keep the game where Sibisi leftit.He was doing well before I came on.I am just happy we won.To win thattrophy was great.Itwas the second time winning itand I think alotof people wrote us off before thatgame.I am really glad we won because we showed we could

compete.

Orlan do Pirates’ Nigerian star Olisa Ndah spen t between seven an d eight mon ths on the sidelin es, recoverin g from an in jury he picked up after the Soweto Derby again st K aizer Chiefs durin g the secon d half of last season . He scored an own goal in that game back in February an d his return to action was for the big on e in the MTN8 fin al again st Mamelodi Sun down s over halfhis a-year later in October. On return , the lan ky defen der looked as though he had n ever been away, playin g a key role at the back as the Buccan eers defen ded their title. Sin ce then , he has been growin g in con fiden ce, helpin g the club keep three clean sheets in their last league matches. In this in terview, Soccer Laduma’s Tshepan g Mailwan e speaks to the 25-year-old about his return to action an d how he was able to stay stron g men tally while on the sidelin es.

TM: Why do you think people wrote you off?

OD:

Whenever you play Sundowns, you are obviously the underdog.You can’t blame people because of what they (Sundowns) have done and their achievements.

TM: You beat the Brazilians in the MTN8 but have struggled to compete with them when it comes to the DStv Premiership title race. Why do you think this is the case?

OD: I think we lack consistency. We’ve had good games and bad games. I think whatmakes abig team is looking for away to win, no matter how difficultitis. They have been more consistentthan us.That’s justit.

TM: How do you go about creating that consistency as the Buccaneers?

OD:

I don’tthink we lack confidence or anything like that.We’ve created a lotof chances, and we justdidn’tscore. That’s justthe difference.

TM: How big will the remaining games of2023 be to get you back into the Top Eight and closer to the top of the standings?

OD: These games will be very important.We have to take each game as itcomes, butit’s importantthatwe collect maximum points. Looking athow we are playing, I feel we are notwhere we are supposed to be.So, I think the lastfew games of the year will be importantfor us to finish well.

TM: You mentioned that you are not one to dwell on the past, but how sweet was the Soweto Derby victory over Kaizer Chiefs recently, considering you scored an own goal the last time you played them?

OD: Itwas wonderful.I think it was my fir st Soweto Der by win since I ar r ived, so itwas a differentfeeling altogether for me. I was r eally excited to getthatwin.I’ve played in derbies back home and I never lost any.It’s always nice to play in the derby.

TM: You were linked with a move to Italy and other parts of Europe not so long ago. What do you know about this?

OD: Personally, I had no ideaabout the whole thing.I think maybe the club communicated with them, butatthattime I had no idea. I was focused on the team at that moment because we were thinking of how to g et mor e points and finish str ong. I was not r eally focused on those tr ansfer s and r umour s.

TM: Did your agent, Mike Makaab, not say anything to you at all?

OD: No, he did notsay anything. or not the stories were true, how did it feel to be linked with a move to a league as big as the Italian Serie A? OD: Yes, it’s agood feeling.Butit’s notjust about me doing well, it’s the whole team.Atthatmoment, our team was doing wonderfully. It’s more like ateam effort.If I am personally doing well and we ar e constantly losing games, I don’tthink itwould really show, butif I am doing well and the team is also achieving things, then it benefits all of us.

TM: Do you want to move to Europe? OD: Of cour se, ever yone wants to go to Europe to play atthe highestlevel.Idon’t think I’ve ever met any player who says they do notwantto go to Europe.

TM: Do you not worry that time is moving and it might be too late to move in future?

OD: I don’treally worry aboutthose things.There are some things you cannotcontrol.You look atwhen Jamie Vardy started playing for Leicester City in the Premiership, he was 29, so everyone has his time.When it’s my time to go to Europe, then itwill happen.

TM: Before we let you go, how disappointed were you to see the team getting knocked out of the CAF Champions League in the preliminary rounds? OD: Itwas areally bad feeling, and itwas something that we definitely learnt from. You know in football there are no small teams.Thatwas an eye-opener for us, and itwas alesson thatwe learntthe hard way.For me, looking atthatteam (Jwaneng Galaxy) and if our minds were right, we could have done better. Butit’s football because they wenton to beatWydad (Casablanca).It’s funny how football works.

TM: Why do you think your minds were not right? OD: I think maybe we took it too lightly, from my perspective.In Orlando, we played exceptionally well. We had alotof chances.Butin Botswana, we wer e not at our best. Obviously, it comes with alot of conditions, like the weather conditions there and the field and everything.But I think we could have done better.

WONDERFUL. “IT WAS FIRST WAS MY I THINK IT SINCE DERBY WIN SOWETO SO IT WAS ARRIVED, I FEELING DIFFERENT A FOR ME.” ALTOGETHER

TM: Thank you so much for your time, Olisa. Enjoy the festive season. OD: Thank you.