Botswana national coach Morena Ramoreboli is delighted his captain Thatayaone Ditlhokwe is finally getting playtime at Kaizer Chiefs.
The 26-year-old has been struggling for regular football at the club; this season, coach Nasreddine Nabi started with Inacio Miguel and Rushwin Dortley as his main center-backs. However, injury to the latter saw the Motswana stepping in.
The former TS Galaxy defender has on several occasions played as a left-back after an injury to Bradley Cross. In total, Ditlhokwe has made 11 appearances for the Soweto giants in the ongoing campaign.
Ramoreboli is happy that his skipper is getting chances at Chiefs which will have a positive impact for the national team.
“To be honest, I am very excited that ‘TT' is playing. I think all our players who are playing outside the country have been getting minutes, which is very important for us. As for the captain ‘TT', is very important. Remember at some point he was not even sitting on the bench, but looking at him playing regularly now and doing so well, I think it's going to help us to perform well,” he told SNL24.
‘We want Ditlhokwe to influence our game from the back'
“We will also be having match-fit players, or should I say players with minutes, and that's an advantage for us. I am looking forward to seeing him competing throughout the season. I wish him everything of the best,” he added.
“He is versatile. He can give you something as a left-back and as a center-back. There's something interesting Chiefs are doing with him. You don't see him climbing too high [up the field] every time they are in possession, but you see him inverting to overload the central space or to give the balance to the two center-backs so that they allow the right full-back to go [forward]. It's only when they are desperate when you see him pushing high, but that means he still thinks like a center-back when they are in possession and he quickly adapts to the demands of a left full-back when they are out of possession. For me, it's good.
“But I think with how we want to play, we will need him more as a center-back to give us that stability and help us influence our game from the back,” Ramoreboli concluded.
Ditlhokwe is expected to captain Botswana in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations to be played in Morocco.
