Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Rulani Mokwena believes the club has found a player who will complement their mobile strikers this season.
Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Rulani Mokwena believes the club has found a player who will complement their mobile strikers this season.
Pavol Safranko, who opened his account for the Brazilians in their away MTN8 first leg semifinal clash against Golden Arrows at the weekend, is seen as a direct replacement for Mauricio Affonso, the Uruguayan who was injury prone.
His attributes are that of a target man, something Downs lacked last season in Affonso’s absence, though they still won the DStv Premiership.
But Mokwena has asked for patience.
“He needs a little bit of time to adapt to our way of playing and schemes as well as patterns. But with the goal that he scored, coming on as a sub and showing the hunger and desire, his attitude has always been proper,” the coach told the media.
The Slovakian guaranteed Downs an away goal ahead of the return leg in their own backyard later this month.
“We believe in him. We know he is a top striker with very good attributes that can help us this season. But we still advocate for time so that there’s a lot more fluidity. It will come, just needs repetition,” Mokwena added.
Safranko, who joined from the Romanian league for a reported R12-million, is likely to be used often as a focal point for the more mobile forwards.
“We are clear in our minds that he is the right striker to complement Kermit, Peter, Gift and maybe even your Vilakazi and Kutumela, coming from deeper positions. Then once you have that you can integrate players like Themba Zwane and Gaston Sirino, very important players for us. Hopefully then the fluidity comes right and then the impact will be greater,” explained Mokwena.
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