Johannesburg - Former Orlando Pirates defender Thulani Hlatshwayo has lifted the lid on his exit from the Soweto giants and has expressed his displeasure with not being offered enough opportunities to prove his worth.
‘Tyson’ - as Hlatshwayo is known - was announced as the first signing of the Gavin Hunt era at SuperSport United on Monday, the pair reuniting having had a successful period in which they had won the a league and MTN8 title at the now defunct Bidvest Wits.
Both Hunt and Hlatshwayo made an appearance on SAFM on Monday evening and Hlatshwayo finally opened up, following a fairly poor stint in the black and white of Pirates.
"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.
The 32-year-old Soweto-born man was deemed a marquee signing when he arrived in 2020, including being handed the captain's armband, however, a series of substandard performances ridden by calamitous blemishes left Tyson's place in the starting 11 up for grabs, where he spent majority of the 2021/2022 season.
The former Bafana Bafana captain with over 400 professional appearances expressed how his situation at the Sea Robbers started to eat at him regularly being in an unfamiliar backup role, a position he had never been in at both Ajax Cape Town and Wits.
"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.
Hlatshwayo also expressed his delight at having the opportunity to work alongside Hunt once again, as they both look to form a part of the SuperSport rebuild.
"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."
The Matsatsantsa are in full pre-season preparations right now, but still have a significant transfer deal to conclude as captain and goalkeeper Ronwen Williams looks to exit the club according to reports.
Hunt has also revealed that Williams’ exit from the club might be too late for him to intervene, as he comes to terms with the player's desires.
"Obviously I had the conversation about Ronwen before I came. I gave my opinion but what can I do. Obviously players want greener pastures and to win trophies. But he should have gone to the Gulf region and make money, like I advised Khune a few years ago," he said.
IOL Sport