Royal AM head coach John Maduka FILE - Royal AM head coach John Maduka. Photo: Gerhard Duraan/BackpagePix
Controversy-stricken Royal AM have focused all efforts to save their faltering season on the coming Nedbank Cup.
The Pietermaritzburg-based outfit currently find themselves a place above the relegation zone, with 18 points after 15 matches.
The early stages of the 2023/2024 season saw Thwihli Thwahla suffer because of their inability to strengthen their squad in the off-season, and they collected just eight points from their first eight matches.
The were also not helped by continuous off-field issues as they continue the fight to resolve an extended potential transfer ban.
The club have always been known for attracting the wrong type of attention since their arrival in the top flight, and it appears now their antics are starting to catch up with them as they find themselves in danger of relegation.
Head coach John Maduka seemed to steer his side back in the right direction, but his thin squad – heavily stacked with youngsters – could not keep up with a top-eight spot and now find themselves in a difficult position.
The Malawi-born mentor spoke after learning about the club’s opponents in the Nedbank Cup, which is the last available piece of silverware this season.
Maduka said he and his camp are planning to use a Nedbank Cup triumph as a way to salvage what has been an otherwise disappointing campaign so far.
“It’s one cup that’s left in the league, it’s a cup we’d love to do well in and hopefully take it. There is definitely an opportunity for us to go all out, and for us to go all out we need to take it one game at a time,” he said.
Royal AM will meet a familiar opponent in fellow KwaZulu Natal counterpart AmaZulu in the last 32 draw of this year’s edition of the Ke Yona competition.
The Nedbank Cup offers a unique opportunity for clubs from the lower divisions to tussle it out with the so-called “big boys” of South African football.
The round of 32 is made up of 16 clubs from the DStv Premiership, eight teams from the Motsepe Foundation Championship and another eight from the lower Safa divisions from various provinces.
Maduka welcomed the opportunity to battle a side he’s already met this season in pre-season as well as in the league.
“Sometimes playing against AmaZulu, a team that we know (is better) because it’s an opponent that we know,” he said.
“Sometimes it’s very difficult to play against a team that you don’t have any idea of, but with AmaZulu or any (other) PSL team, teams that we play week, in week out and we see each other, it becomes okay for us to prepare.”
With the January transfer window already shut, Maduka will breathe a sigh of relief having not lost any members of his already depleted squad.
AM will return to local action on February 14 against Cape Town Spurs in league action.
IOL Sport