Offer to join Pirates came as complete surprise, says Otladisa

Orlando Pirates winger Katlego Otladisa has revealed that after an unsuccessful stint with Mamelodi Sundowns he never expected that he’d get an opportunity to play for a big club again and he never obsessed about that.

“I didn’t really expect that I’d get another chance to play for another big team after Sundowns. All I was focusing on was getting minutes at any team I was playing for at that particular time,” Otladisa said during Bucs’ activations at Soweto’s Maponya Mall last week.

Otladisa joined Pirates before the start of this season on the back of a decent campaign with Marumo Gallants, who reached the semifinals of the CAF Confederation Cup before they were relegated from the DStv Premiership.

Though he had a below par goal-contribution at Marumo last season, where he only had six assists without scoring, Otladisa still made the team tick, thanks to his silky skills and pace. Pirates’ recent success is what lured Otladisa to join them as it was reported that other teams like Bucs’ rivals Kaizer Chiefs wanted him.

“I wanted to associate myself with a winning fraternity, hence I decided to come to Pirates. Pirates have been doing very well, I mean last season they won two cups, so I wanted that feeling as well… tag along with the team,” Otladisa said.

Following a fantastic Confed Cup run with Marumo last term, where they were only eliminated by Young Africans in the semifinals of the competition, Otladisa was so eager to compete in the Champions League with Pirates this season until Bucs were elbowed out of the tournament by Jwaneng Galaxy in the second preliminary round.

“I was really looking forward to playing in the Champions League with Pirates, a much more organised team, no disrespect to Marumo but it didn’t happen, so I had to accept it,” Otladisa said.

As it’s no secret that his game lacks goals and assists, the 27-year-old winger is hell-bent on improving on that at the Sea Robbers, also admitting he’s under pressure to finally reach his peak.

“I am looking at a target of providing assists for the team and getting goals for the team. However, for now the main thing is to get more minutes. Yes, I really feel I have pressure to finally peak, especially that I am with Pirates now,” Otladisa said.

Otladisa joined Sundowns from Platinum Stars in 2018 but ended up failing to make even a single appearance at the club.