Tuks aim to unearth more talent in Ke Yona
Tlisane urges his stars to emulate likes of Jali, Yende
University of Pretoria coach Tlisani Motaung has urged his players to showcase their talent and deliver for the club during the Nedbank Cup competition to have a chance to earn a big contract elsewhere.
In the 2008/09 season, AmaTuks lost in the final of this competition to Moroka Swallows. In that campaign, they produced top players like Andile Jali, Bongani Zungu, Mthokozisi Yende, Phenyo Mongala and Aubrey Ngoma.
And Motaung said they have reverted back to that where they produce players, and he is confident that they won’t disappoint.
AmaTuks will host Cape Town Spurs in the last 32 of this competition at Tuks Stadium tonight (7pm), looking to advance to the next stage.
“If you look at the club for a long time, even during Steve Barker’s time, we have been relying a lot in our youth,” Motaung said.
“You look at Andile Jali, people didn’t know him. It was through this football club [that they came to know him]. George Maluleka came through this club and when I took over, I said we need to revert back to that.
“Fortunately, the management, the board and everyone bought into it. I know the structure here. We unearth talent here... kids come and show potential and we give them an opportunity to showcase what they have.
“There will be a couple of players that we will bring through this tournament, which is important for us. I’m of the view that they are going to take the opportunity with both hands and deliver and showcase their talent to the whole continent.”
While winning promotion in the Motsepe Foundation Championship to the DStv Premiership remains their objective, Motaung said they also want to go far in the Nedbank Cup and have increased their pool of players to help them play in both competitions.
“The decision we took from our planning as a team, we felt that we needed to increase the pool of players, so we can manage in playing in different competitions,” he said.
“Our role now is that we must manage both competitions. They are important for us because at the end of the day we have to do what we have to do. I think the plan of increasing the pool of players is the one that we are banking on, hoping that it will yield results at the end of the day.”