Cape Town - Orlando Pirates winger Thabo Qalinge is excited about building on the positive personal progress he made in 2017, after battling with injuries last season.
The 26-year-old former Black Aces winger bounced back in fine style since the new campaign kicked off in August and has quickly become an integral component of the Bucs machine, playing in 12 of their 15 league games and scoring twice while also netting in the Telkom Knockout.
Qalinge is thrilled to be making a positive contribution and is determined to keep that momentum going.
"It's all down to hard work. I've had a lot of injuries but now I want to stay injury-free and focus on my football in the new year," he told Soccer Laduma website.
"The coach has also given me the opportunity and I've taken it with both hands. It's also been great to play with the new players who've joined the team.
"I want to keep up the momentum in the new year. As a team we want to be more consistent with creating chances and scoring goals."
Qalinge also believes the Buccaneers still have a decent chance at mounting a title challenge, with their next game at home to Baroka FC when the Premiership resumes on January 6.
"The beautiful thing about our league is that it's very tight so there is still everything to play for this season. The Bucs supporters need to stand behind us every step of the way," he added.
Kick-off is at 20:15.