An Orlando Pirates legend that proved to be a hit with the fans in his heyday has spoken candidly about Monnapule Saleng's loan move to newly promoted side Orbit College.
Saleng's loan move to Orbit came as a surprise, although there were hints that a more favourable outcome to his impasse with Pirates would likely be a stay at the club.
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On the other hand, there are sections who believe the Soweto giants are punishing the winger for not honouring his contract by not reporting to training due to contractual issues he had with the club last season.
The loan move may have raised eyebrows, but Steve Lekoelea believes the former Free State Stars man will eventually come good at Orbit.
"Saleng is a good player. He will obviously start slowly because he has not been playing due to the contract issues. He still needs match fitness, but after four, five games, I believe we'll see the Saleng we know," Lekoelea told KickOff.com.
After spending seven months out of the game, was the dribbling wizard going to play had he stayed on?
"It's a decision that Pirates and Saleng agreed to, but I think he was going to play at Pirates. I think with the support from Pirates fans, it was going to be easy.
"He's a good player, but supporters play a big role in terms of your performance on the field. It was going to be easy if the supporters were behind him," asserted Lekoelea.
The former winger also weighed in on whether the signing of Oswin Appollis was going to affect Saleng's playing chances.
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"If I was coach, I would play them all, Appollis and Saleng, including (Relebohile) Mofokeng. Because even last season, I wanted Mofokeng to play with Saleng, because when Mofokeng is closed down, then Saleng is there.
"You can't rely on one player," 'Chippa' stressed.
Photo: EJ Langner/Gallo Images
