Orlando Pirates full-back Deano van Rooyen wants to be on his best behaviour to ensure his stay at the club is a major success.
Van Rooyen switched from Stellenbosch to Pirates in the off-season, ending speculation over his future and has become an integral member of Jose Riveiro’s team.
It is a transfer that Van Rooyen terms a “dream come true” and being from the Western Cape, he knows he will be judged harshly if he fails to succeed at Pirates, hence his desire to keep his feet on the ground.
“They [Stellenbosch] wanted to keep me, but I told them, let me follow my dream, I wanted something new in my career,” van Rooyen told iDiski Times.
Pirates full-back to be on his best behaviour
“I have been all the years at Stellenbosch, I was there for eight years, just for me to make a switch and have a different environment, it will show the person I am, my character and my personality.
“I was talking to my family and players at Stellenbosch about what is best for me, they told me to go after my dreams, and I sat with my family to discuss the move to Orlando Pirates, they said they would be happy for me if I went, it’s what I wanted.
“I wanted to follow my dreams, but it was a difficult decision. You know they say players don’t survive here in the Jo’burg environment, everything is fast here, the lifestyle, everything, so for me it’s to behave on and off the field.”
Van Rooyen keen to change perception
Van Rooyen has already seen Pirates lift a trophy, when they claimed the MTN8 against his former side in October, a match he did not play, having featured for Stellenbosch earlier in the season, and is keen to ensure he wins trophies with the Buccaneers.
“I know why I came here, for me, it’s now to stay focused and just do my job here at Orlando Pirates, I know everyone says players [from Cape Town] come to Pirates and struggle, but I just need to do the right things, listen to the coaches and what they say,” he added.
Van Rooyen has made nine appearances for Pirates this season but an injury kept him out of their recent matches before he returned to action on Tuesday during the Soweto giants’ CAF Champions League tie away to CR Belouizdad.
