The Team of Choice managed a club-record fourth place Absa Premiership finish in 2017/18 along with a Nedbank Cup silver medal under coach Fadlu Davids.
This was a vast improvement on their previous best finish of seventh in league in the season prior – showing that the club is on a continued path of growth.
Having recently joined from Kaizer Chiefs, Buchanan feels this is the perfect sort of setup for him to re-establish himself after a largely frustrating two-year spell at Naturena, and believes he could help the club go that step further in their search for silverware this year.
“I think the team showed last year that they can play a good brand of football. Everyone fights for one another, the team and the city,” Buchanan tells snl24.com/kickoff.
“Obviously I will do my best to try and add to what already is there and not to jump the gun with the club’s goals for the season. But every team wants to win a cup or something, so without putting pressure on ourselves, we could do a bit better than last season.”
With just four starts to his name during his time at Amakhosi, the former Bloemfontein Celtic workhorse is itching to get back to the form that saw him earn the move to Naturena in the first place.
“I won’t lie, the eagerness is there. I’ve missed playing football on a regular basis or being involved in the team setup as a whole,” he adds.
“I’m happy to be where I can be back in the thick of things – helping the team achieve certain things, you know. At the end of the day it’s also about what you bring to the team, and I’m excited to help Maritzburg achieve their targets.”