I don't think I would still be playing football if I stayed at Kaizer Chiefs - Letsholonyane

Highlands Park midfielder Reneilwe Letsholonyane admits leaving Kaizer Chiefs for SuperSport United was a tough decision. 

However, he feels it was a decision he needed to make after looking at his overall performance in Steve Komphela's first season. 

'Yeye' played 30 games across all competitions that season despite initially being sidelined by Komphela in this opening matches of the 2015/16 campaign.  

"It was a tough decision and emotional because it’s like you [are] leaving your home for the first time. So, it was a hard decision to make but it had to be done," Letsholonyane told FarPost. 

"It wasn’t entirely about my contract or the offer [from SuperSport United]; it wasn’t really about that. I had to look at myself. It was coach Steve's first season.

"And as much as I had injuries and whatnot that season, the thing is we played two Cup finals and we lost both, and I remember when he joined the team, for me it was a huge thing, because he’s a South African and he’s a good person. He’s a good coach.

"So, for me, I really wanted him to do well. I really wanted coach Steve to do well and not winning one of the two finals increased stress for him, obviously, for him, from the supporters to think he’s not a good coach.

“So, [at the] end of the season when obviously we were negotiating my contract and whatnot, those are the things that I considered. As a person, I didn’t perform the way I wanted to perform.

"I didn’t contribute to the team the way I want to contribute to a team. I contributed to the stress levels of this young black coach who got an opportunity to coach this big brand and change the mindset of people to say, even a local coach can deal with this big team."

The veteran midfielder doesn't think he would still be playing football if he had stayed at Chiefs for another season, simply because he had been at the club for too long. 

Letsholonyane further stated that he feared to find himself in a comfort zone, adding that another reason he wanted to move away was getting a new challenge.  

"So for me, I was disappointed and I knew that if I stayed another season I don’t think I would be playing now, because whether we like it or not, there’s a comfort zone that creeps in, and because you’ve been there for a very long time, subconsciously, you would be comfortable," he continued.

“I felt that moving away and getting a new challenge would take me out of that comfort zone."