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Cape Town - Orlando Pirates winger Thabo Qalinge believes his chance in the national team will come if he continues to shine for his club.
Qalinge has been one of the stand-out players of the domestic scene this season, putting in a succession of man-of-the-match performances while scoring twice in the league, as well as bagging the winner in the 1-0 TKO first round win over Golden Arrows last weekend.
As a local boy, Qalinge is thrilled to be contributing to the Buccaneers' cause and says it's important that the players form a tight unit.
"It will be nice for me to leave my mark at Pirates because I'm also from Soweto and the team is also from Soweto. It will be nice to win things with the team and achieve big things.
"We are trying by all means to stay together as the team and be united because if we are apart, then we won't win anything," he explained.
While some may feel the 26-year-old has already done enough to get a Bafana call, Qalinge believes his chance will come if he keeps his head down and does the business for Pirates.
"I'm taking each game as it comes. A Bafana Bafana call-up will happen when it happens. At the moment, my focus is at Orlando Pirates. I want to improve my game.
"We respect the decision of the coach (Stuart Baxter). Whatever decision that has been taken, we have to accept it and move on and look to play and prove ourselves," he added.
For now, the skilful midfielder is looking to make his mark against Sundowns in a league game on Wednesday.
"I want to continue to win these man-of-the-match awards. Once you win one, you get encouraged to win another one. I want to try and pick up where I left off. Since the season started, I haven’t been injured. For me, that's the positive," he concluded.
