Cape Town - Mamelodi Sundowns winger George Lebese admits that he was surprised that head coach Pitso Mosimane ordered him to lose weight.
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To get the 29-year-old in the right physical condition, Mosimane revealed that the former Kaizer Chiefs player had to lose eight kilograms.
“For me, it came as a surprise [being told to lose weight]. I didn’t actually think I had a little bit more weight because I never had that problem before,” Lebese conceded as quoted by KickOff website.
“When it was mentioned to me to lose two-three kilos, they showed me videos of my old games and the reason why the team had to come and get me – it was because of certain movements and runs, so that becomes difficult when you have that excess weight.
“It was important even for my confidence, so I had to lose that weight. I had to cut on the food and train extra. I was training like four times a day – three times with the team and once on my own, late [in the evening].
“I was given a time frame, so I knew I wouldn’t be part of the team until I’m done with that programme. I had to push really hard and it worked for me.”
The winger only managed to get 16 appearances in all competitions during his debut season at Chloorkop since his move from the Soweto giants.
Lebese hopes that next season he will be able to contribute more towards Sundowns ambitions.
“I didn’t get as much game-time as expected this season but it’s promising,” he continued.
“I was told I’m still part of the team, so I’m happy to be here and hopefully next season will change.”