Bafana Bafana international Iqraam Rayners is unhappy after being snubbed for all but one category in the Premier Soccer League Awards nominees.
The 29-year-old had a good campaign in his debut season at Mamelodi Sundowns, scoring 24 goals and providing nine assists across all competitions. All the assists were in the league, where he found the back of the net 14 times, meaning he was the second-best productive player in PSL after Lucas Ribeiro.
Surprisingly, the former Stellenbosch player was nominated for just the Carling Knockout Player of the Tournament Award. It came as a shock, not only for the football stakeholders in the country, but also to the versatile attacker.
He insists he was the second-best player in Mzansi, just behind his Masandawana teammate Ribeiro.
‘My stats were good enough to be in a lot of nominations'
“Obviously, I’m a bit disappointed because what I did last season, I had a good season with a good team, good players that were helping me. And obviously, the coaches who believed in me. So, for me, I was disappointed when I saw the players that were nominated,” he told Pitchside Podcast.
“Don’t you think also, [if you look at] my stats from last season, I think it was good to be in a lot of nominations.
“For me, the best player in the league was Lucas, obviously; I think I’m second after Lucas. For me, my stats were the second-best. So obviously I was disappointed,” Rayners concluded.
Rayners is expected to hit even greater heights this season, owing to the quality of players surrounding him. Masandawana are definitely hoping to successfully defend their PSL title and challenge for other domestic competitions, as well as deliver in the Caf Champions League.
