Bafana Bafana and Club Brugge striker Percy Tau compares his first experience in Europe as similar to a jungle where he has to fend for himself.
The former Mamelodi Sundowns striker is in his second season in Belgium with the 2019/20 Belgian Pro League champions and reveals what Bafana legend Benni McCarthy told him as far as staying on top of his game is concerned.
In an interview with Teko Modise on Puma South Africa’s Instagram page, the former Witbank Spurs hitman also states Cape Town City striker Kermit Erasmus has been supportive, saying he told him to focus on scoring goals for the Black and Blue.
“If you’re there expecting a family, you’re not going to get it,” Tau told Modise as quoted by FARPost.
“You’re alone and the people you’re around are not going to help you. They are not here to babysit you. Everyone is here to either move to the next step, to a bigger club or, if they stay, get a better contract. You have to be very confident.
“If you are confident, you win. I sent Lyle Foster the same advice that he needed to be confident and believe in himself. If we are doing a ‘Tissue Challenge’, it is a competition. Anything you do, you are competing and if your confidence dips, they will be on your case every day.
“The first time I spoke to Benni [McCarthy] that was one thing he was critical of. ‘Your [low] confidence overseas is not going to help you,’ he told me.”
The 26-year-old also featured against top European giants such as Real Madrid, Paris St. Germain and Manchester United in the Champions League and Europa League this past term, saying confidence brings a winning mentality.
“If you are too humble, you will lose out. It is a jungle whereby we compete on anything. Even when practising finishing, we will be competing,” he added.
“When I spoke to Kermit Erasmus at the national team, he said I shouldn’t think about things too much if I’m going to play in the [Uefa] Champions League; I must just score.”
The former Caf Champions League winner joined English Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion in 2018 and has spent the past two seasons on loan in Belgium as he looks to make his way to the Premier League.
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