Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena is delighted that Thembinkosi Lorhi is settling into the squad.
Roach has divided opinion among fans since joining Sundowns.
Thembinkosi Lorhi is a key player for Sundowns
However, Mokwena believes he is the team's main player.
“He's ready, he's ready, I saw him in the changing room,” Mokwena said after Sundowns beat Chippa United.
“There are many things, but he comes from a team that has established a hierarchy through many years of experience, so in the changing room he will decide his place in the dynamics of the group.
“So he comes into the Sundowns dressing room and has the history and the profile, but he has to establish himself within the hierarchy, the structure and the dynamics within the group.
“And, of course, Rorhi’s personality.
“I know because I worked with him and I know when he's calm and when he's not calm.
“So when he arrived, I looked at his body language and I could see he had a little bit of enthusiasm now and I could tell he had a spring in his step. And that's what I is what you've been waiting for and you can't rush it.
“It means Mother Nature accepts it, and it’s the same in Tashreeq and it’s the same in Esquibel.
“It's small things, but you see it in everything, how he interacts even with people at the top of the food chain. And now that he's earned their trust and they're putting him in a group.” You can see that they are being accepted.”
He will be in the “core group”
The coach says Roach will thrive if given responsibility.
“He has a smile on his face, he connects passes with rondos, he’s in the group, he’s trusted and he gives us the ball in tight spaces.
“That's because he has earned their trust. And Tash is already doing the same thing, Zuko is doing the same thing, and you hear it, you see it, when they hand out bibs to each other. Even look at the little things you're looking for within the group dynamics,'' Mokwena said, according to iDiski Times.
“It's not about being a good player or not, they wouldn't be here if they weren't a good player, but it's the little things and those are the things I always look out for and sometimes they are I think it will help the individual and Lorch's transition.''Right now he's in the core group, and that's why we brought him here. ”