Sekhukhune United coach Lehlohonolo Seema has explained the reason behind Sipho Mbule’s notable absence from the team that faced Polokwane City in the Limpopo derby at Old Peter Mokaba Stadium on Sunday.

The two teams shared the spoils following a 1-1 draw courtesy of goals from Raymond Daniels, who netted his first for Rise and Shine in the 35th minute before Tresor Tshibwabwa leveled matters for the visitors six minutes later.

The 26-year-old midfielder joined Babina Noko on a season-long loan from defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns at the beginning of the ongoing campaign after he struggled to establish himself as a regular starter at Chloorkop.

Under Seema’s tutelage, Mbule has featured seven times across all competitions and has one goal to his name. However, the loanee missed the derby and the Sekhukhune mentor has provided clarity on his omission.

“Let me rotate my squad, let me work on the squad. If you check my fixtures now, you’ll see that we have to give some rest to some players, and you know [Sipho] Mbule hasn’t been playing where he’s coming from,” said Seema.

“And then we also gave [Katlego] Otladisa [his debut], [Andy] Boyeli is there we are trying to rotate, [Chibuike] Ohizu we haven’t seen him in a long time. So, we are trying to rotate and make sure that we give each one game time whenever we need to.

“Because this January and February are going to be a very difficult period for us, so we are trying to manage. So, if anyone gets a little bit of a knock we don’t want to risk it, we try and listen to the medical team whenever they advise us not to risk a player.

“But to answer the question, both of them [Mbule and Boyeli] were there but they had knocks so it was just a precaution not to have them, ” the former Orlando Pirates captain added.

Seema, who is on his second stint at the club, went to clear uncertainties over the future of long-term absentees, stating that everyone needs to earn their place in the team as he has a selection headache.

“As a club, we are trying to assemble a team that is strong and the players know that they have to compete, so [Keletso] Sifama and [Jamie] Webber are still part of Sekhukhune United, they are still registered with the team, ” asserted the Lesotho-born tactician.

“But players now need to fight and work hard. There are some players that you haven’t seen for some time like [Njabulo] Ngcobo of course and he’s injured also. But you haven’t seen other players that are there also, they are waiting for their chance.

“So, we have a squad that we can say we are spoilt, they are giving us a headache. Whenever we put out a team, we put a team that we think deserves to play and everyone now knows that they have to work hard to [be selected].”

The Limpopo outfit currently occupies the fourth position in the Betway Premiership table and will return to action with a visit to AmaZulu at King Zwelithini Stadium on Wednesday. Babina Noko last tasted league victory over Usuthu in October 2021.