JOHANNESBURG - Lehlohonolo Majoro gives little away at first when asked about Cape Town City, his former club following his move to Bidvest Wits last month.
But when pressed for more details, especially whether he has any insight on why the Mother City club remains unbeaten against the Clever Boys, the striker, appreciating that all eyes will be on him when coach Benni McCarthy’s outfit visit Bidvest Stadium on Wednesday in the opening round of the Nedbank Cup, Majoro finally caves.
“I think it will be a mental thing,” he says about coming up against his old teammates so soon after his departure. “People tend to psych themselves up when they play against their former teams and that often leads to mistakes. I don’t want to fall into that trap.
“I take it one game at a time and I treat them as professionals. I am sure if we can play the same way we played against Chiefs in our previous game, we might come up with positive results because this is the only trophy we stand a chance to win.”
Majoro got off the mark at the weekend by scoring his first goal for Wits, an equaliser, against Chiefs, a team he played for between 2011 and 2013, winning one Premier League title with them.
He is ready to build on that performance against a City side that almost looks like a new team with all the January signings brought in to fill in the void created by losing Majoro and Aubrey Ngoma, who joined Sundowns.
“I watched them (City) when they played Sundowns on Friday. I believe they still have a good squad - judging by the results,” Majoro says.
“It’s normal that players come and go. It doesn’t mean us leaving that the team will collapse. They are capable of beating anyone, as that is the case in the PSL, where everyone can beat anyone regardless of their log standing.”
Majoro spent the last few weeks of his time at City watching from the stands after a fall-out over his refusal to sign a new contract. He’d been declared a free agent when Wits signed him to help them look like champions again during a difficult period in which the title holders had dropped down into the relegation zone.
“I must say that I was surprised by the level of competition here,” Majoro says of having to fight for a place in the team with James Keene and Amr Gamal. “James is a hard working guy, and Gamal is good with the ball to his feet, his positioning and skills. I think each and every striker has his own attributes.”
The 31-year-old is adamant he was not despondent when he was struggling to open his account for his new club. It took him six games before he scored.
“The effort I put in determined whether I would start the next game or not. I believe I was trying. I have improved from the player I was, covering more distances and making a lot more runs now than I used to make in the previous teams.
“I believe it comes with the style and the mental strength of an individual. This game is all about pressure. No one was telling me I was under pressure to score, but I kept working hard and never lost hope. That’s what the best strikers do and I will keeping pushing for the limit.”
@superjourno