Wayne’s world just got a whole lot better

WHILE Pitso Mosimane was scouring the earth to find a suitable replacement for Alje Schut, there was a man in the Mamelodi Sundowns camp who knew all along that there was no need to worry or look for someone else to fill the void left by the big Dutchman.

Wayne Arendse believed there was no need to fuss because he knew he could do the job in the centre of defence, where Schut was a rock before heading back home to the Netherlands at the end of last season.

Sundowns are one of three teams with the best defensive record in the Absa Premieram ship, with eight goals conceded, and the Chloorkop club have kept five clean sheets in the last eight league matches Arendse has been involved in. So, clearly there was no need to worry about losing Schut.

“You always rate yourself up there and believe in yourself,” Arendse says.

“When Alje left, I knew that this is my time. So when preseason came along, I worked very hard. I wouldn’t say I wanted to leave Sundowns. I knew that it was his final season, so I had to step it up a bit and show myself.

“Fortunately the coach saw that and gave me a chance. I have taken the chance, but I not going to relax. You can’t slip up at Sundowns because there is always someone waiting to play in your position. There is a lot of quality at Sundowns,” said the defender, who has formed a solid partnership in central defence with fellow veteran Thabo Nthethe this season.

“It’s going good so far because we have quite a few clean sheets. At least we are doing something right.

“Hopefully we can thrive and keep going. It feels good to play and help the team. I’m glad the team is doing well.”

The 31-year-old, who joined Sundowns in 2012, spent time on the bench, but learnt how to be strong and patient from some of the veteran players at his previous club, Santos.

“I joined Santos as a youngster. When I started I played with guys like Musa Otieno, Sebastian Bax and Edries Burton. They always encouraged me and their attitude grew on me. As time goes on you become mentally stronger and you know how to deal with some situations.

“As a player you always want to be on the pitch and because I am human there are those bad days when you are not happy. But luckily my family kept me going. I have been in the game long enough to know that time will come.”

Arendse feels that if he was ROCK SOLID: Wayne Arendse, left, has proven he is capable of replacing Alje Schut, right

As a player you always want to be on the pitch. There are bad days when you are not happy

playing regularly, he may have even added to his one Bafana Bafana cap which he earned against Equatorial Guinea in 2012, before he left Santos for Sundowns.

“Stepping on to the pitch against Equatorial Guinea was something special for me. It’s the only cap I have. When I stood on the halfway line waiting to come on for [central defender] Morgan Gould, I had goose bumps. That was my highlight.

“It’s never too late to play for the national team again. You just have to keep working hard. Your performance determines if you are good enough to play for Bafana. Hopefully I do get a chance.”

Sundowns have their sights set on winning the Absa Premiership title this season, but there’s the Telkom Knockout final against Kaizer Chiefs coming on December 16, a chance to lift some silverware almost halfway through the campaign.

“That is our aim, to win trophies. We have a strong team and we are focused on every game as it comes. Ultimately the league is what we are pushing for.

“But the next one is Chiefs in the Telkom final. [We] have to give it our all. We are raring to go and hopefully we can win it.”