Cape Town - Mamelodi Sundowns defender Motjeka Madisha says he is working hard to become more confident and more vocal around senior team-mates.
Madisha rose through the Brazilians' development ranks before making his first-team debut last season, going on to play in 12 league matches.
This season the 23-year-old has taken his game to the next level and has featured in 19 of his team's 20 league games.
He has also played for the Bafana Bafana side in a couple of friendly games and was in the squad for the final three World Cup qualifiers.
But despite all his success, Madisha is said to be a quiet and unassuming character. although he's aware of the need to adopt a more confident approach.
"The first thing that I had to work on to grow as a player was communication," Madisha was quoted saying by IOL.
"I wasn't very vocal towards my team-mates. I was kind of quiet. I wasn't telling them when they were making mistakes. I think that being young played a role in that. I couldn't bring myself to shout at players who are older than me."
He revealed that it was the senior players themselves who encouraged him to come out of his shell:
"I had to respect them," he added. "But they told me at the start of this season that if I had to shout I should shout.
"That's what helped me get over it. This season I have improved a little bit. I am also improving on my positional play. I am not where I would like to be but I am better than I was when I started getting regular game time."
Sundowns are next in action when they host high-flying Free State Stars on Wednesday.
kick-off is at 19:30.