Moroka Swallows captain Lebohang 'Cheeseboy' Mokoena is pleased to have proved his doubters wrong after leading the Birds back to the Premier Soccer League (PSL).
The Soweto giants secured automatic promotion to the elite league after clinching the National First Division (NFD) title with a 3-0 win over Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila on the final day of the season on Sunday.
Mokoena, who had successful spells with Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns, struggled to find a new club in the top flight after leaving Ajax Cape Town in 2017 with the Urban Warriors having been relegated to the NFD.
The former South Africa under-23 international was clubless for a year before joining then-NFD side Maccabi FC in 2018 and later moved to Swallows ahead of the current season.
"This is a moment that I will cherish for the rest of my life. I'm grateful that God has given me this opportunity because a lot of people wrote me off," Mokoena told the media.
"They said 'Cheeseboy is no longer [the same player]. Cheeseboy will never play football again'.
"I'm not here for the love of money, but I'm here because of the passion and talent that God has given me. All praise goes to God. Also the support I got from my family, my wife and kids.
"I would like to thank them from the bottom of my heart for keeping me in good shape and keeping me going in terms of what I love doing."
Swallows had a slow start to the current season, but the team started performing well after coach Brandon Truter was brought in to replace Zeca Marques in September 2019.
"It has been really tough. We did not start well, then we had coach Truter coming in. We had a lot of changes. We changed a lot of things," the experienced player added.
"We had to work on the attitude, humbleness and unity of the team. We actually achieved that. Everyone knew that they had a role to play.
"We had a difficult time during the break which was enforced by Covid-19. It did take its toll on us. We were frustrated."
The PSL and NFD seasons were suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic in March and the two competitions only resumed in a Biologically Safe Environment (BSE) in Gauteng earlier this month.
The 33-year-old believes that their individual training sessions on Zoom were key to the team's promotion to the PSL as they only struggled with injuries in their last game against Tshakhuma on Sunday.
"We came into camp early and we had the [coronavirus] tests done. We did Zoom sessions at home as individuals. That paid off because it really sustained us for the remaining six games that we had in the bio-bubble," Mokoena, who netted four goals in 27 league games for Swallows this term, said.
"We only struggled in the last game with me pulling a muscle at some stage. It was already wrapped up. We believed in the team. Everyone knew what they had to do."
Swallows are back in the PSL for the first time since they were relegated to the NFD at the end of the 2014/15 campaign.
Ajax Cape Town and Tshakhuma will participate in the PSL promotional/relegation playoffs after finishing second and third, respectively, on the NFD standings.
They will be joined by the team which will finish 15th on the PSL standings this season.
