Matlaba promises Royal AM fans second place finish

Speaking ahead of their DStv Premiership clash with Marumo Gallants at the Chatsworth Stadium on Wednesday, Thabo Matlaba has promised Royal AM fans that the club will finish in second place come the end of the season.

The KwaZulu-Natal based outfit have been on a good run in the last few weeks, with the club on an eight games unbeaten run in all competitions.

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Thwihli Thwahla have been sitting firmly in second place on the league standings thanks to their good run which has seen them accumulate 40 points in 23 games, but Matlaba says they have to be cautious and remain focused.

“To be honest, we need to be humble, we need to humble ourselves not to take any team for granted. Because, if we take teams for granted we will lose games, that is why we are very focused. The coach always tells us to be focused and take each and every game important and seriously,” said the former Orlando Pirates defender.

Meanwhile, Royal AM coach John Maduka says he is anticipating a tough clash against Gallants, who are in 11^th place with 29 points in the bag from 23 games.

“We promise the fans that we will finish second (on the log) because we are working hard. We don’t want to lose any game. We will always go to every game to win, not to lose or draw. That is why it is important for us to win every game,” said Maduka.

“We are expecting a difficult game against Marumo Gallants, they are a good team. And for us, playing back to back games, it is important to make sure that we manage players so that they are fresh on Wednesday. But we are expecting a difficult game, however, we are playing at home, no excuse, we must compete and try to get the points that we need. So, the preparations have been going well, there is no =thing much we can do because we had back to back games.”