If people say I’m a failure, it’s okay, says Kermit Erasmus

One of the first things that Kermit Erasmus said when he joined Mamelodi Sundowns was that he wanted to score 30 goals in the previous season and many people thought he was crazy.

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The season has come and gone, he got his gold medal from winning the league but fell 27 goals short from his set target.

A couple of days ago he was trending on social media platform, Twitter, with many taking a jab at him and calling the former Orlando Pirates striker a failure. To his defence, he only played 17 games in the DStv Premiership as he had a season plagued with injury.

“In the first few games of the season things were looking good. Yes, I did not get to 30 goals and if people consider me as a failure, then so be it, I am not ashamed to say I failed. If you see me injury free, there is very little I cannot do… being injury free is my main concern now,” said Kermit Erasmus.

“If we have to be honest we have to look at how the season went, whether I played all the games or not. People are going to be critical about it, I am also critical about it but there is no need for people’s criticism. We just focus and work on that in the new season. There is always an opportunity to try and do it again, that’s the beauty about football,” Erasmus added.

If he does achieve it, he would become the first player to hit that mark in the Premier Soccer League era, surpassing the current record held by Colllins Mbesuma, who netted 25 goals for Kaizer Chiefs over a decade and a half ago.

One person who Erasmus can take a leaf from is his teammate Peter Shalulile, who has netted 41 goals over the last two seasons in the colours of Masandawana and the now defunct Highlands Park. They started the season on fire together with Themba Zwane, who went on to win the Midfielder of the Season while Shalulile claimed the Footballer of the Season and the Players’ Player gong.

“I have spent a lot of my time after training with Peter and he does a lot of extra work. He is a great humble guy, he works really hard and he is selfless. He deserves everything that he has achieved and he was close to getting the top goal scorer’s award. I think had he scored early in the last game he would have challenged Bradley Grobler but it did not happen but it is still his season nonetheless,” said Erasmus.

He added: “You can see the relentlessness he has on the field and the fighting spirit and he is always positive. He is like a brother to me and we grew close this season. I help him where I can because he knows where he lacks and he wants to learn.”