Former Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns talisman, Edward Manqele, is on a mission to restore his reputation as one of the most feared marksmen in the country.
A few years ago his goal scoring prowess with Free State Stars landed him a move to Chloorkop. He failed to live up to his billing at the Brazilians and was loaned out to Moroka Swallows. The loan spell worked as Manqele rediscovered his magic.
In 2015, he joined Chippa United after parting with Sundowns. Manqele found his mojo again in Port Elizabeth and Amakhosi lured him to their camp. His two-year stay with Amakhosi was one to forget and it ended in 2017. Manqele is now at Real Kings in the GladAfrica Championship.
He joined the KwaZulu-Natal side this season. Kings signed Manqele after impressing during his time with TTM last season. His goals helped TTM qualify for the play-offs.
Having suffered the pain of the play-offs, Manqele is focused on helping Kings to get automatic promotion.
“We don’t want play-offs. I was there last season with TTM and I know how difficult they are. Yes, we are behind the leaders at the moment but there’s still a long way to go. We are fighting to get the straight promotion. We know that won’t be easy but we can do it. We need to be consistent though especially in the second round," Manqele explained.
Manqele made four Bafana appearances when he was on form.
“I still want to play top flight football. Age is still on my side. I’ve missed top flight football and last season we were so close with TTM. We also didn’t start well but gained momentum in the second round. That is something we can also do it here at Kings,” he added.
Kings lost 2-1 to TTM last weekend at Chatsworth Stadium.
“We don’t want to focus on Uthongathi (who are at the summit of the log). We have to take one game at a time. Obviously, we are disappointed that we dropped points this past weekend at home. The league is a marathon and anything can happen. Our team is still in the building process but we have good bunch of talented players. It is only a matter of time before we can start to get positive results."
Kings are 13 points behind Uthongathi. They have a mountain to climb to dethrone their rivals. Kings are in desperate need of good results in their upcoming games. Currently they are ninth on the log. Their next assignment is on December 7 away to Mbombela United.