When Naughty Boys got promoted to the Mascom Premier League in the 2005-2006, they showed glimpses of good attacking and flowing football. By then they had talented youngsters such as Kaone Molefe who is now at Township Rollers, left back Mogorosi Magetse currently at Lobtrans Gunners and robust defender David Mfolo of Mochudi Centre Chiefs. But lack of experience led to Dinoko's quick drop to First Division soccer.
With Mogoditshane Fighters having already qualified for the Premier League, the only chance Naughty Boys have is through the promotional playoffs where they will have to overcome Jwaneng Comets and Motlakase. Both Mogale and Setstwe believe that they have what it takes to go through and they are motivated for the task at hand.
"We are ready to fight. We have had good preparations for these encounters. We played against Killer Giants and Wonder sporting where we won 4-3 and 3-2 respectively," said assistant Setswe who was in charge of the training session. He told Mmegi Sport that it is not going to be easy but added that his players have showed that they are ready for the battle. Though they have had a chance to see Comets in their campaign in the Premier League, Palapye-based Motlakase remains an unknown quantity to Naughty Boys. "I have seen Comets playing. They are very strong in the midfield where Bobo Motlhalane normally pulls the strings. But we have not seen Motlakase play in a long time but at least we will be able to watch them play against Comets on Friday," Setswe said.
He added that they will have to be careful not to concede too many goals. "I know that the best form of defence is attack but we do not want to concede many goals," he told Mmegi Sport.
The captain, Mogale concurs that though they have a tough assignment, they are ready to prove that they are fighters. "Comets are a good side and though we have not seen Motlakase for a long time, they are also a good side. We will have to be at our best to overcome them and I think we are ready," he told Mmegi Sport. Both Mogale and Setswe agreed that the Tlokweng community is very proud of their team. "We used to have a lot of supporters at our games but since we got relegated, the numbers have decreased but they are really behind this team. They know that we have chance to go back to top flight football and we hope that they will continue giving us this support," said Setswe. Besides Mogale, Naughty Boys have talented and experienced players who have played in the Mascom Premier League before. It is expected that former Township Rollers' duo of defender Losika Moeng and striker Galefetoge Kenaope will lead the exciting young Naughty Boys players in the campaign.
Manager Lopang Lopang believes that the support they get will be a major boost for the team in the playoffs. He added that though it is going to be tough, they do not fear anybody. "We might be young in terms of the division that we were campaigning in but my players are as old as those campaigning in the Premier League," he said. He added that the players have shown that they have what it takes even at training sessions. He stated that they do not want to put themselves under unnecessary pressure by thinking about how their opponents play. "We will just play our football," he said.
