Brockie opens up over Downs woes
Jeremy Brockie has admitted that the pressure has been immense over the past year, with him struggling to find his scoring touch. Before he broke his duck for Mamelodi Sundowns on Wednesday night against Free State Stars, Brockie had last found the back of the net in an official match in a Caf Confederation Cup match in October 2017 for his previous club SuperSport United.
“It has been difficult since I’ve arrived at the club and especially in the last couple of months. I haven’t been featuring in the team and mentally I had to stay strong and keep myself fit, so that when the opportunity came I made the most of it. I hope that is enough and I hope I can keep my spot for Saturday,” said Brockie, ahead of Sundowns’ crunch Absa Premiership clash against Orlando Pirates tomorrow.
“The hardest part is to try and deal with it (not scoring) mentally. Since I arrived in the country, I had been scoring goals consistently and then I got the move I wanted. I knew it was going to be difficult but I thought I would have adapted a little bit quicker and it would have been little easier,” Brockie said.
“The longer you go without scoring the more pressure there is and the more people start talking ... they hide behind their phones on social media and they give me a lot of stick. By the way, those were Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs fans who have been doing that,” he quipped.
When the goals were not coming, Pitso Mosimane reduced the forward to a mere spectator and the likes of Phakamani Mahlambi and Toni Silva, who are natural wingers, were preferred to spearhead the attack.
“Mentally it tests you because I know Toni and Phakamani love to play wide and when they get played as the No 9 in front of you it makes things even mentally tougher and plays with your mind a bit more. The times I have been sitting on the sidelines gave me a lot of time to spend with family ... I got a lot of support from close friends and family and it felt good.”