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| Tebogo Monyai © Bcakpagepix |
University of Pretoria skipper Tebogo Monyai believes his side have laid the foundations for a long and successful tenure in South Africa's top-flight league.
AmaTuks could not have wished for a better start to their first season in the Premiership, having claimed 12 points from their first six games, including surprise wins over Moroka Swallows and Ajax Cape Town.
"If you look, we have been doing well since last season and even the season before that," Monyai said on Wednesday.
"We just missed promotion last season. The club is an institution where we believe we are Premier League material.
"This club has been ready for the Premiership. It was delayed for us to be on this stage.
"The build-up from what we did in the National First Division has helped us."
Tuks extended their unbeaten run in the league to six games with their 5-1 thrashing of Ajax last weekend and Monyai believed a strong desire within the squad meant the team wanted to do well regardless of their opposition.
"We never changed much (from last season)," the skipper said.
"We got a couple of players who are hungry and a lot of our youngsters who were with us from the First Division are still with us.
"I think it's time for each and every player to show up and say, 'I'm good enough to play in this league', and show that their clubs made a mistake by releasing them."
Monyai believed the side would need to show that hunger once again when they take on defending Premiership champions Orlando Pirates in Pretoria on Sunday.
"This is where we will be testing our strength," he said.
"We are up against a big club, a historic club, and Pirates is one of the best known teams in the country.
"They are a wounded side after their last match, they will be looking to redeem themselves against us, and it's a good thing that we go into each game as underdogs.
"We see it as an advantage for us and we are going for three points."
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