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Johannesburg - Steve Barker confirmed that SuperSport United's Roscoe Pietersen has joined AmaZulu on loan until the end of the season.
Read: Majoro not giving up on Bafana
“Roscoe is in Durban, he trained today (on Thursday). He had a final medical [assessment] this afternoon (on Thursday). He's down there already with the team," said Barker.
Pietersen had struggled to hold down a regular starting role since joining SuperSport in 2012 and looked set for a permanent move away from Matsatsantsa at the end of the season, should AmaZulu opt for the lanky defender long term.
Long as possible
Barker, who resigned from the University of Pretoria in November, was keen to bring in more new faces to help beef up his squad.
“Hopefully there will be a couple of other players that we will bring in...not only on loan but also full transfers.
“Those should hopefully be finalised by the middle of next week so that we have everybody for as long as possible.”
The coastal outfit have been linked with moves for the Mamelodi Sundowns trio of Bongi Ntuli, Punch Masenamela and Bryce Moon, while Wayne Sandilands has also emerged as a possible transfer target.
But Barker is playing his cards close to his chest. He revealed that he had landed in Johannesburg on Thursday afternoon, however, no reason was given.
“There are always going to be names that are mentioned, but they are not always necessarily exactly who we are after," he said.
“We know that some players are not happy where they are and maybe with more game-time, if the club fits, those loans can become permanent transfers.
Dismal start
“Players of that calibre would not want to be playing in the national first division so it's our responsibility to keep the club in the premiership.”
Usuthu are rooted to the bottom of the league standings over halfway through the season after a dismal start to the 2014/15 campaign.
Barker said his team were hard at work training, despite the league only resuming in February.
“We've got no choice. We have to work ourselves out of our situation and it's going to take a huge effort.”
