Mpisane might look the way he looks but he does finish trainings: Maduka

Royal AM chair and player Andile Mpisane is putting in the hard yards at training with an aim of getting into shape to earn more game time for his team in the Premier Soccer League (PSL), his coach says.   

Mpisane was again an unused substitute when Thwihli Thwahla held Kaizer Chiefs to a goalless draw in their DStv Premiership outing at FNB Stadium on Saturday.    

This was the second time the 22-year-old forward sat on the bench for his club this season, having done so in their opening game of the season against AmaZulu at Harry Gwala Stadium last month.

Mpisane made his top-tier debut against Richards Bay FC in the club's final game of the previous campaign. 

The player-cum-musician looks out of shape by professional football standards but his coach, John Maduka insisted his boss was working hard at training.   

Maduka revealed that Mpisane played 75 minutes in a friendly match against Usuthu during the Fifa international break.    

“He works, he works. He finishes the sessions whenever we are doing conditioning, he is not a player who pulls out [of training],” Maduka said.   

“He might look the way he looks but he does finish training sessions.   

“The conditioning part is very, very tough but he does manage to finish. Last week we used him when we played a friendly against AmaZulu. He played about 75 minutes in which he never looked like a player who would get tired. He is still part of the team.”    

With the Pietermaritzburg club barred from signings due to a Fifa ban over the saga involving former player Samir Nurković, Mpisane seems to stand a better chance of playing this season.   

The 22-year-old Royal chair has featured for the club’s DStv Diski Challenge reserve team and videos of him showboating have been doing the rounds on social media.   

He came on as a replacement for the senior team when they defeated Chiefs to win the friendly Macufe Cup last season.

Mpisane is the son of club owner and president Shauwn “MaMkhize” Mkhize.   

Maduka was pleased with Royal's point away from home against Chiefs, where AM goalkeeper Xolani Ngcobo was the man of the match.   

“It’s a good point for us, playing away from home,” he said.

“When it comes to the game itself, it was a very tactical game. Chiefs had their moments where they could have hurt us, but we also had moments ...

“When the game started, we knew they would take it to us and they did exactly that. We managed to defend that and tried to play from transition.”   

Royal will aim to return to winning ways when they host Sekhukhune United at Harry Gwala Stadium in Pietermaritzburg on Wednesday (7.30pm).