Thabo Mnyamane’s transition from University of Pretoria FC, who were relegated last season, to SuperSport United, who sit at the top of the Absa Premiership after the first round, has been seamless. The trip might have been short, moving from one Tshwane side to another, but the adjustment was massive.
Mnyamane was the big fish at AmaTuks, having made his way up from being scouted at the Varsity Cup to being a reliable scorer for the club and even earning a Bafana Bafana call-up. The competition for places was stiffer at Matsatsantsa a Pitori. But Mnyamane quickly got into the swing of things at SuperSport to become the club’s joint top goalscorer with five goals in all competitions.
“I haven’t settled. If you are settled, you become comfortable and that brings complacency. I believe that I haven’t made it yet. I am still arriving. I will have that mentality until I finish my career because that will keep me going and constantly striving to improve. I could have scored more goals towards the end of the first half of the season. I am my biggest critic and that keeps me on my toes,” Mnyamane said at the launch of Nike’s Hypervenom 3 boots.
The 24-year-old will be wearing those boots on
Wednesday at Lucas Moripe Stadium against Golden
Arrows.
Mnyamane’s goals are part of the reason Matsatsantsa have been the most prolific team in the league with 21 goals. Those goals have put the Tshwane side at the summit of the 16-team table going into the break, showing just why SuperSport are among the contenders for the league. Their Nedbank Cup successlast season, just four months into Stuart Baxter’s era, fuelled their bright start to this campaign. The Scottish coach has quickly stamped his authority at the club. Baxter has also made a big impression on Mnyamane.
“He has improved me not only as a player but as a person,” Mnyamane said. “He communicates, he tells me how he believes in me. That’s a good feeling as a player, knowing that your coach believes in your abilities. You want to do your best every time you wear the jersey. He is going to play a bigger role because I will be with him for a couple of seasons.”
Mnyamane’s time with SuperSport could see him finally win a trophy in the professional ranks. The only silverware from his time at AmaTuks is the November/December Player of the Month award he received two seasons ago. That award means a lot to Mnyamane even though it came at a difficult time for him, this month two years ago while his father was fighting for his life in hospital.
“My pops got better afterwards and he is much stronger now,” Mnyamane said. “The support from him has been out of this world. From a young age I knew that my pops had my back no matter what. If it wasn’t for him and my mother, I don’t think I would be here today. He sacrificed a lot for me. He used to take me to trials everywhere I needed to be. He would come back from work, fetch me from school and take me where I needed to be. I didn’t make it in those trials, I wasn’t ready, but he always believed in me. ”