Orlando Pirates striker Gabadinho Mhango claims to have no issue with coach Josef Zinnbauer having regularly given preference to Deon Hotto last season.
Last season was a stop-start one for Mhango, who had in the previous campaign been the joint top scorer in the league with 16 goals for the Sea Robbers.
Despite Mhango being a natural striker, Zinnbauer at times left the former Bloemfontein Celtic, Golden Arrows and Bidvest Wits man on the bench and used players such as Hotto, Vincent Pule and Thembinkosi Lorch (all of them attacking/ wide midfielders) upfront.
According to Mhango, Zinnbauer explained why he was snubbed at the time, and he claims to have no complaints about the German coach.
“It was the coach’s system that he wanted to use. Before games we’d talk - he’d tell me that in this game the opposition is like this and that so he’ll start Hotto and I didn’t complain," Mhango told the Sowetan.
Of the 22 league matches he featured in, the 28-year-old started just nine of those.
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“I know people might have complained that I didn’t start while Hotto started up front, but they must understand that this is football and what happens is usually based on the coach’s philosophy at that given time," Mhango added.
Two of Bucs' other strikers, Tshegofatso Mabasa and Zakhele Lepasa, missed large portions of the season through injury, although Mabasa bounced back strongly in the final months of the campaign.
Pressure has been growing from Bucs supporters for the club to part ways with Zinnbauer, and one of their qualms has been the perceived misuse of Mhango.
Under Zinnbauer the Buccaneers were able to end a six-year wait for a trophy when they claimed the MTN8 title in December.
In the league they finished third, 17 points behind Mamelodi Sundowns and four points behind AmaZulu, claiming a spot in the Caf Confederation Cup for next season.
