A FEW months ago, Happy Jele’s future with Orlando Pirates looked uncertain.
But fast forward to the present time and Jele is back in coach Milutin “Micho” Sredojevic’s favour and likely to stay with the club beyond the end of his contract in June.
Jele recently returned to the Bucs starting lineup, scoring in their 2-1 league win against Maritzburg United in what was his seventh appearance this season.
He returns to shore up a suspect defence at a time when Pirates are looking to maintain momentum in the league championship race, with fewer than 10 matches left.
“Personally I’m happy with how things have gone so far, especially with my contribution to the team,” said Jele.
“We are in the running in the Nedbank Cup and also in the race for the league title. I can’t predict the future but I’m optimistic about our chances in both competitions.”
Bucs are third with 33 points, six behind Mamelodi Sundowns at the top, and are also through to the Nedbank Cup Last 16 round.
For a team which embarrassingly missed out on the top eight tourney last season, being in the top five ranks as a major improvement, even by Bucs’ standards.
Pirates’ next match is a visit to Chippa United at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Sunday.
“We are trying to improve from last season game by game. Last season was not good, we did not play well and we did not get good results. We finished 13th and need to improve on that,” added Jele.
“A lot has changed in the way we play. The team is still a work in progress, the coach has done many things to improve in our game.”
Jele has now made more than 200 appearances in all competitions since he joined Bucs a decade ago, scoring 10 goals in the process.
He has seen the team go through many ups and downs in the last eight years, including the highs of back-to-back trebles – with two Nedbank Cup titles.
His achievements include playing in the 2013 Caf Champions League finals and the Caf Confederation Cup.
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