Royal Am wants to win the league despite drop-zone challenges

The KZN side has not tasted a win in their five opening league fixtures, leaving them at 13th place on the log with 3 points - even with newcomers the University of Fort Hare FC. 

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Mafene says their slow start into the season has been a learning curve, ahead of their upcoming fixtures.

''My ambitions for this season - I just believe for a good competition, finishing second even first place in the league. I learnt quite a lot last season when I was an assistant coach, so I think starting slow this season has been a learning curve for us,'' said Mafene.

Thwihli Thwahla will host the University of Fort Hare at the Harry Gwala Stadium on Saturday, coming at the back of a 1-1 draw against last season's title contenders the University of Western Cape.

Mafene believes collecting a point in their previous match against coach Thinasonke Mbuli’s UWC - served as a confidence booster to start collecting maximum points to escape the drop zone as soon as possible.

 ''This encounter vs Fort Hare, is not going to be an easy game. But our previous game against UWC has given us the edge to perform even better, just looking at our upcoming fixtures,'' added Mafene.

Mafene further told SABC Sport that the international break was much needed for his team to reset and get ready to turn things around and make sure they finish strong in the current campaign.

This is Mafene's first season as head coach succeeding coach Delisile Mbatha who recently joined the University of Johannesburg’s technical team.