On Monday, Orlando Pirates defender Olisa Ndah spoke out about the speculation surrounding his potential exit from the club. Ndah, who made a return to the team for the first time since February when he came on as a substitute for Nkosinathi Sibisi in the MTN8 final at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday, made an immense contribution at the back as the Buccaneers managed to keep out Mamelodi Sundowns, before it had to be decided on penalties.
Ndah denied any talks of a move away from the Soweto giants, saying, “I don’t think I had that conversation with the chairman or anybody in the office. Apart from that, they motivated me a lot because they knew what I was going through since February. I did not have any thoughts of leaving.”
The 25-year-old had to endure a lot before making a return to the team on Saturday. The last time he had featured for Pirates was against Soweto rivals Kaizer Chiefs in the Premiership in February, when he came on as a substitute and scored an own goal to hand Amakhosi a 1-0 victory. He had just come back from a long layoff at the time, but picked up another injury which kept him out until he made a return on Saturday.
Ndah expressed his gratitude for the support he has received from the coaching staff and physios, saying, “I think it’s been a difficult time for me. I want to say thank you to the coaching staff and physios and everyone who helped me through everything. I am happy to be back and contributing to the team winning. The derby only affected me for a couple of days. I wasn’t really concerned about what was going on outside. I was more worried about my teammates and what I can do to come back stronger.”
