Tshegofatso Mabasa declares bold Golden Boot ambition

Currently tied eighth on five league goals from 17 appearances, trailing Mamelodi Sundowns talisman and leading scorer Lucas Ribeiro by eight strikes, Mabasa has some way to go to catch his rivals.

However, not only has he declared his ambitions, but also put an exact number of goals he believes he will achieve with just 12 matches remaining until the close of the season.

"First, I see myself finishing with 18 goals in the league that's my target and I think I'll achieve it come end of the season," Mabasa said.

It's rather unusual for players to put an exact number to their tally targets, but 'Sniper', who appears to be doing his off-the-field homework, has explained.

"I think it's based on the chances that I've received so far in games up until this point in the season. It hasn't been that many and it's also based on how teams defend particularly when I'm on the field,” he added.

“How centre backs behave, there's a lot of things that I've picked up during the course of the season and the course of games, many different games so yeah, it's based on stats."

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With two hat-tricks to his name – one in the Premiership and one in the Nedbank Cup, Mabasa does appear to have what it takes to climb the rankings, and he's highlighted his appetite for hitting the back of the net.

"It's a great feeling, there's one thing that I love the most apart from winning matches is hitting the back of the net and helping the team win games. So, it's really a great feeling for myself a striker, because I pride myself in that, hopefully, I can keep doing that for this wonderful club."