SuperSport United CEO Stan Matthews has shed light on why the club did not release Thatayaone Ditlhokwe to join Kaizer Chiefs in January, despite the Soweto giants having secured the player on a pre-contract. Matthews explained that the club wanted to keep the player to help them achieve their goal of finishing in the top four of the league this season.
“I had a chat with Gavin and we said the character of this lad is good. Let’s keep him until the end of the season, because we could have cut him loose in January, and let him help us finish in the top four because that was our goal at the beginning of the season, to finish in the top four. We are 12 games away from achieving our goal. We kept TT so that we can finish in the top four,” Matthews told the Siya crew.
Matthews also confirmed that the club are already looking for replacements for the Botswana national team captain, with two centre-backs reportedly lined up in the coming weeks.
“We have to find solutions to get a good replacement. We have two centre-backs lined up in the coming weeks. I am pretty confident that we will find a suitable replacement for TT. No player is irreplaceable. He is a great player and he will add value to Kaizer Chiefs, but we are also happy for him. We are also happy for that we continue to enhance our brand as a club that can take you in from humble beginnings and deliver you to the very highest platform in South African football,” Matthews concluded.
