Former Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Tinashe Nengomasha says he expects no favours from University of Pretoria coach Shaun Bartlett in his attempt to win a contract at the club.
The 33-year-old has been without a club since leaving Mpumalanga Black Aces in June.
Nengomasha is back at University of Pretoria, where he's been on a trial for a week. He trained with AmaTuks last year when Sammy Troughton was still the coach, but was unsuccessful.
Now he's training under the watchful eye of Bartlett, who played with him at Chiefs.
"I played with Shaun [between 2006 and 2008], but at the end of the day it is about the work ethic in the field. If I'm not working hard enough and there are those working harder than me, then they deserve a contract ahead of me," he said.
"In football, I don't believe people should do each other favours. If that happens, then it kills the morale of the other players and the team will not accomplish what they want," he continued.
A veteran of more than 350 Absa Premiership games, Nengomasha says he still has a lot to offer in the way of experience.
"Siphiwe Tshabalala's experience is helping Chiefs. Reneilwe Letsholonyane is also helping. Teko Modise's experience is helping [Mamelodi] Sundowns, so you can't take the experience away.
"What surprises me is that everyone was praising Andrea Pirlo when he was playing for Juventus despite his age. It is different here in Africa and people are quick to say he is old. So people are quick to judge, but I'm not concerned about that. When I came here [to join Chiefs], people said I was a wrong signing," said Nengomasha, who was born in Harare, Zimbabwe.
He has SA citizenship and can be registered as a local if signed.
Can he prove to be the right signing for University of Pretoria, who are involved in a relegation dogfight with nine matches remaining?
"I can't predict what's going to happen [at AmaTuks] in terms of whether they would sign me. I have been training with the team for a week and I don't know yet. I can only promise that I will work hard and be committed," he added.
Nengomasha played his last competitive game a year ago when he started for Black Aces in a 1-0 loss to SuperSport United on February 14, 2015.
Tinashe maintains he still has the legs
Former Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Tinashe Nengomasha says he expects no favours from University of Pretoria coach Shaun Bartlett in his attempt to win a contract at the club.
The 33-year-old has been without a club since leaving Mpumalanga Black Aces in June.
Nengomasha is back at University of Pretoria, where he's been on a trial for a week. He trained with AmaTuks last year when Sammy Troughton was still the coach, but was unsuccessful.
Now he's training under the watchful eye of Bartlett, who played with him at Chiefs.
"I played with Shaun [between 2006 and 2008], but at the end of the day it is about the work ethic in the field. If I'm not working hard enough and there are those working harder than me, then they deserve a contract ahead of me," he said.
"In football, I don't believe people should do each other favours. If that happens, then it kills the morale of the other players and the team will not accomplish what they want," he continued.
A veteran of more than 350 Absa Premiership games, Nengomasha says he still has a lot to offer in the way of experience.
"Siphiwe Tshabalala's experience is helping Chiefs. Reneilwe Letsholonyane is also helping. Teko Modise's experience is helping [Mamelodi] Sundowns, so you can't take the experience away.
"What surprises me is that everyone was praising Andrea Pirlo when he was playing for Juventus despite his age. It is different here in Africa and people are quick to say he is old. So people are quick to judge, but I'm not concerned about that. When I came here [to join Chiefs], people said I was a wrong signing," said Nengomasha, who was born in Harare, Zimbabwe.
He has SA citizenship and can be registered as a local if signed.
Can he prove to be the right signing for University of Pretoria, who are involved in a relegation dogfight with nine matches remaining?
"I can't predict what's going to happen [at AmaTuks] in terms of whether they would sign me. I have been training with the team for a week and I don't know yet. I can only promise that I will work hard and be committed," he added.
Nengomasha played his last competitive game a year ago when he started for Black Aces in a 1-0 loss to SuperSport United on February 14, 2015.
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