Black Leopards striker Robert Ng'ambi has backed his compatriot Gabadinho Mhango of Orlando Pirates to become the first Malawian in the PSL era to win Footballer of the Season.

Mhango has had a superb debut season at the Buccaneers, whom he joined from Bidvest Wits. The Malawi international is the top goal scorer in the top flight with 14 strikes to his name.

With only a handful of games left in the season, Mhango is a top contender to bag the lucrative gong.

"Gaba has really done well for himself and was having an unbelievable season. I think he is having his best season and there is still more we can expect to see from him," Ng'ambi told Sowetan.

"I think it will be good for Malawi if he won the award for best player. It will also motivate the up-and-coming players back home to work hard if they see one of their own achieving good things.

"It's not easy to win the player of the year but he deserves it. He has been in good form."

Over the years, Malawi has produced a number of top players in the PSL. Among the players who have played at the highest level in South African football are Patrick Mabedi (Kaizer Chiefs, Moroka Swallows), John Maduka (Bloemfontein Celtic), Josephy Kamwendo (Orlando Pirates) and Ernest Mtawali (formerly Chirwali) (Bloemfontein Celtic, Mamelodi Sundowns). In 1991, Mtawali won the Player of the Season while he was at Celtic.

The 33-year-old Ng'ambi has no ambitions of slowing down. He aims to help Lidoda Duvha avoid the relegation chop. The Venda team are at the bottom of the PSL with 20 points from 24 games. "We have enough quality in the team to avoid relegation. We just have to stick together and give our best," Ng'ambi said.