Moorosi Tsiane

Bantu attacking midfielder Litšepe Marabe says his failure to replicate last season’s prolific form has left him frustrated.

Marabe was the premier league’s top-scorer last season with a record 22 goals. The devastating form earned the forward the premier league’s players’ player and player of the season awards, in addition to the Golden Boot.

But nine matches into the current season, Marabe has only scored three goals, and the gifted forward is understandably worried.

“It is true things are not really working for me at the moment. I have been struggling to find the back of the net as often as I would have liked, and this is very frustrating,” Marabe said.

“You can see that our opponents are coming into matches very prepared for me, which is why I have been finding it difficult to score.”

However, the dribbling wizard said despite his lack of goals, he was happy to have been creating chances for his teammates to score.

“That’s the positive thing about my game; creating chances for my teammates to score. This makes me happy because I am still contributing to the cause,” he said, noting his failure to score regularly had obviously come with pressure.

“In football, there is always pressure. The supporters have every right to get angry with me if I am not delivering, but I am an experienced player and know how to manage the situation.

“The fact that I won those awards last season is one of the reasons people are expecting more from me this time around but I am a very patient guy. I know my time will come, and what I simply have to do is continue working hard,” Marabe said.

The national team forward also admitted his rumoured move to LMPS early in the season was also affecting his performance.

“Too many things have happened since the season started, and one of them was that LMPS rumor. It took away my focus and left me frustrated to the extent that I was even losing my temper on the pitch unnecessarily, which is not good at all, and for which I apologise.”

Marabe has, however, hailed his coaches for the support they have been giving him as he battles to reclaim his goal-scoring touch.

“The coaches’ support is one of the things that have kept me going. Their belief in me has helped me remain confident and hopefully, the goals will start flowing again and I can repay this faith.”