Loftman: Gladwin Is A Legend

Gladwin Shitolo’s leadership at University of Pretoria is valued. Image: Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images

University of Pretoria coach Michael Loftman has described Gladwin Shitolo as a legend, revealing that the experienced defender’s influence and leadership in the team goes as far as sending bible verses.

The 35-year-old Shitolo joined AmaTuks before the start of this season after leaving Betway Premiership outfit Golden Arrows and was immediately given the captain’s armband by the Motsepe Foundation Championship side. He’s featured in every match for the club, using his experience to guide the likes of Nqobani Biyela, Cassidy Snyders, Oarabile Booysen and Chuene Moabelo.

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Shitolo was solid in AmaTuks’ first home victory of the season yesterday, as they beat Leicesterford City at Tuks Stadium.

“Gladwin is a legend. Anyone who knows Gladwin will tell you that he is an amazing person. He is a top human and a top footballer. I actually worked with him at Pirates before, so I knew him before he came in and I knew exactly what he would bring. He is delivering that in abundance. He is someone I look up to. He’s got that much humility, focus and dedication. I respect him so much. He was sending me bible verses this morning and I am reading the bible versus with motivation. I am grateful to have someone like that,” Loftman said.

“I am sure he is looking after the young ones. It’s in his nature. It’s not something I have to ask if he is doing it. He is someone who wants to mentor and lead and help young ones. The mentorship of young players is really important to me and the club.”

Loftman replaced Kwanele Kopo as head coach at AmaTuks and is slowly finding his feet, and the results are showing. They are unbeaten in their last four matches, with three clean sheets along the way. They have collected four points at home and four on the road.

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After the victory over Leicesterford, Loftman gave his thoughts: “There’s no doubt, it’s really important to get results at home. We try not to focus on the outcome, we try on focusing on getting better each week. But there’s no doubt winning at home is really important, so (I am) really grateful to get the first points. 

“At the moment, we are still trying to find the right balance between the players on the pitch. You will see from the first game, we have made a lot of changes to the team and we will continue to make changes until we find the right balance. It’s not a home versus away, but a week to week of trying to find the right balance, reviewing performances and checking where we were strong and where we were weak and trying to find a balance of being sustaintable long term.”

AmaTuks have another home game next weekend, against Hungry Lions.

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