Hlatshwayo Slams His Ex-Pirates Coaches

Thulani Hlatshwayo has once again opened up about his stay at Orlando Pirates as he criticises his former coaches. The former Bafana Bafana captain says the coaches were not honest with him and feels that he wasn’t treated as a senior player.

Hlatshwayo’s blunder in the Soweto derby is perhaps one thing that destroyed his stay at the Buccaneers as many Pirates fans were subsequently hard on him. The former Bidvest Wits captain asked to be released after the end of last season as he wanted some change in his football life that seemed to be falling off at the time.

“In the change room, I told everyone I take full responsibility for the mistake I made. I made a mistake and was never given an opportunity to fix it, but listen, lesson learnt,” said Hlatshwayo in his interview with Soccer Laduma.

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“They were not completely honest. We had a meeting two days after that game, myself and the coaches, and they told me they were looking to change the team and see if what they were planning would work. But the change never came.”

“Tell me. Be blunt with me; I will take it. When such happens to a youngster, we as senior players are the ones expected to tell them, right? But with me, who must talk to me? It’s the coaches. They must be blunt to me, be straightforward,” he added.

“There was no honesty and integrity. I’m not one to talk bad about someone else. I’m not that type of person. Forget me as a player; that’s not in me as a human being. But someday, things will make sense.

“I’m all about honesty, instead of me having to ask myself, ‘Is it me? Is it them?’ Like, ‘What’s happening here?’ Now you start doubting yourself, but you tell yourself surely you can’t be a bad player overnight. So, they should have been just honest with me.

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‘I’M RELIEVED AFTER LEAVING PIRATES’ – HLATSHWAYO

Hlatshwayo says leaving Pirates gave him much-needed relief after going through a rough patch. Seeking more game time was the main reason for him to depart.

“I’m very relieved after leaving Pirates and joining SuperSport. It was a tough period for me, especially after the game against (Kaizer) Chiefs. I never started after that and I feel like I should have got more opportunities,” he said on SA FM.

“I actually started to doubt myself and it wasn’t good for my confidence. But it was my decision to leave, I needed to play. I’m not used to not getting game time,” he explained.

“I’m happy to be reunited with Gavin, he’s a coach that knows me very well and I will bring a lot of experience. It was an easy decision because I had no offers at the time.”