‘Every player wants to play’: Maema vows to fight for his Sundowns place

It is not an exaggeration to make the point that the past few months have not been good for Neo Maema. 

Towards the end of the tenure of Rulani Mokwena at Chloorkop, Maema found playing opportunities limited and the trend has continued under the reign of coach Manqoba Mngqithi. 

But the skilful left-footed attacking midfielder is determined to roll up his sleeves and convince coaches Mngqithi, Steve Komphela, Wendell Robinson and Romain Folz that he deserves a place in the starting line-up. 

This season he has only made one appearance against Polokwane City in the MTN8 quarterfinal, but he is not the type to give up as he has vowed to fight for his place amid stiff competition in the star-studded team. 

In the creative attacking department, Maema is competing with the likes of Marcelo Allende, Sphelele Mkhulise, Tashreeq Matthews, Thapelo Maseko, Thembinkosi Lorch, Lesiba Nku and Lucas Ribeiro. 

“Every player wants to play,” said Maema, adding that even though he has not played much, he always support those chosen by Mngqithi. 

“We are pushing each other and whoever plays we support him because that player needs the support of everyone. We can’t all play at the same time, whoever is playing needs to make sure that he keeps consistent performances to help the team. 

“When you look at Sundowns, it is interesting with the amount of players that we have. We have different midfielders that give different things to the club when they are on the field of play.” 

Maema respects the choices made by Mangqithi and the rest of the technical team and is waiting for his chance. 

“It is up to the coach to choose and I can’t be standing here and saying I want to be chosen to play every time. There is also a little bit of brotherhood in the team, but competition is there and I am glad that we push each other. 

“Sundowns is a dominant force when it comes to transfers and they are always going to buy players. I like the saying that the new guys excite the crowd more and it means the new guy is the one who the supporters are going to be looking forward to. 

“I have confidence in the technical team because they know what they are doing. Since the start of the Betway Premiership, it has shown that some things are going well. There are some things that are different in terms of how he wants us to do stuff.” 

During the time he has been on the sidelines, some of the Sundowns supporters have called for his return and he appreciates their support. 

“It is a nice feeling to hear that [some fans are rooting for me], those are the people that I don’t want to disappoint as a Sundowns player. I love the team so much and their support gives me confidence to fight for my place and I make them happy again.” 

Sundowns started the season by failing to win the MTN8 and Maema says they need to do better in cup competitions and not only the league. 

“I have always been there and if you are a dominant force people will focus on you. It wasn’t what people are looking at us, it was us taking every game as it comes and making sure that we compete for every trophy that is available and giving our supporters a good show. 

“A lot of people expect us to win every match and when we don’t do so, it is going to be a big deal because we are a big club with some quality players. We are just making sure that we stay the dominant force that we are and we know it hasn’t been so good in cup competitions. 

“We don’t want our supporters to think that we can only do well when it comes to league games and not in cup competitions. We want them to stay hopeful and starting with the Carling Knockout, we want do well in this competition,” he concluded.