Olwethu Makhanya says playing for Rangers has turned him into a mentality monster. The Ibrox centre-back has been outstanding since signing for the club from MLS side Philadelphia Union this summer. His performances for Derek McInnes’ side have earned him the SPFL Player of the Month award for September.
Derby Displays and Mental Growth
In Rangers’ double Old Firm win over Celtic before the international break, the South African produced brilliant derby displays. Makhanya is excelling under McInnes at Rangers and the 22-year-old says playing at a huge club has sharpened his mindset.
Ahead of Saturday's Premiership clash with Kilmarnock in Govan, he said: “I would say, I’ve improved mentally now. I’m now able to embrace anything I’m going through. There is pressure in every game here and the younger me would maybe have fallen under that pressure. But now I understand that pressure is a privilege, especially when you are playing for such a big club like Rangers with all the expectation. I always try to make sure that I’m in a really good place mentally now.”
Old Firm Importance and Belief
Makhanya is aware of how important both Old Firm victories were to Rangers and their supporters. They’ve now got a Premier Sports Cup semi-final at Hampden to look forward to - and could go top of the Premiership today if they see off Killie.
Makhanya believes Rangers are on the right track but says they must keep it going after the Celtic wins. He said: “Celtic is one of the more difficult teams in the league and being able to beat them twice tells you a lot about the quality we have in the team. So that gives us more belief to keep on going. Right now, I feel we are on a good run of form. We are going in the right direction but we need to keep doing the things that have been working for us.”
International Success
Makhanya’s move to Rangers has also cemented his place in the South African national side. He featured in all three of their games during the international break which included two AFCON qualifying wins over Guinea and Eritrea and a friendly victory over Egypt.
Makhanya said: “I had a very enjoyable and successful international break with South Africa. We won all the games, we did really well and it was a good experience for me. To represent my country is always something that I work towards. It’s been a goal for me so to be able to achieve it is really good.”
