Orlando Pirates striker Tshegofatso Mabasa has revealed what drives and keeps him motivated throughout the season, saying he draws inspiration from the world-class Europe-based strikers.

The Bucs frontman scored a hat-trick as Jose Riveiro’s men ran riot, putting eight goals past Marumo Gallants’ Washington Arubi at Orlando Stadium on Tuesday, in what was their final home match of the year.

Mabasa, who has been in and out of the team on the back of his Golden Boot-winning campaign with 16 goals last term, says he is relieved to finally end his goal drought in the Betway Premiership after a prolonged period without finding the back of the net.

“It’s a sense of relief, I mean the last time I scored in the league was in the first league game of the season against Chippa United, and for me to have an opportunity to score three goals shows the amount of support that I’ve been getting from the rest of the team,” he said.

“They’ve been rallying behind me, I can only appreciate that and say thank you to them and the technical team as well, they’ve shown faith in me, and they haven’t doubted me. I’m just happy that I could deliver today.”

The 28-year-old player went on to state that Manchester City’s goal-scoring machine Erling Haaland and Bayern Munich center-forward Harry Kane, who is also known for his ruthlessness in front of goal, are his source of inspiration amongst others.

“Every striker in the world of football wants to score goals and to walk away with three is really a special feeling for me. I give credit to the technical team, the coach, and my fellow teammates as well for the amount of support they’ve given me, it’s been amazing truly,” Mabasa uttered.

“In terms of motivation, like I said every striker in the world of football wants to score goals and that’s what keeps me going. I continuously watch football, I want to improve my game, watching the likes of Erling Haaland and Harry Kane. World-famous strikers and how they do things motivate me to keep pushing and do more.”

Despite plundering goals for Pirates, Mabasa has been overlooked by Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos in the national team.

Pirates will visit Carling Knockout Cup giant slayers and champions Magesi FC in their penultimate league encounter of 2024 at Peter Mokaba Stadium on Sunday as they remain three points behind Mamelodi Sundowns with a game in hand.

A win in that game will see them reclaim the top of the Betway Premiership table.