Allan excited about working under Komphela

Swallows stopper Keegan Allan is buoyed by the prospect of working with coach Steve Komphela.

Komphela completed a shock move to Swallows two weeks ago, leaving his post as first team coach at Mamelodi Sundowns. Having been part of Bafana Bafana squad in the Cosafa Cup, that concluded in Durban on Sunday, Allan can’t wait to meet Komphela at Swallows.

“Coach Steve is an incredible coach. His record speaks for himself and I am just very excited to work under him. It’s an extreme privilege to have someone like that as a coach. I can’t wait to return [to the club after the Cosafa Cup],” Allan said.

The 22-year-old Allan was one of SA’s top performers at this regional tournament, where they settled for bronze after beating Malawi 5-3 on penalties in a third place play-off at King Zwelithini Stadium at the weekend.

Quizzed if he’d like to graduate to be part of the full-strength Bafana squad, trained by Hugo Broos, Allan implied he’s not obsessed with breaking into Bafana’s main team. The Swallows centre-back has, however, backed himself to always give his all whenever he’s on the pitch.

“It’s hard for me to think like that,” Allan answered when he was asked if he thought he’d done enough to break into Broos’ side. 

“To be honest, I will take it one game at a time. I can’t think ahead, I don’t want to think ahead. I work hard and give my 100% in each of my performances, that’s all I can look back on and say I gave it my all. The main thing is just consistency. There’s a lot of talent in my position but I will try to continue to perform to the best of my ability. It’s just about working hard and the rest will take care of itself.”

Last season was Allan’s maiden in the Premiership, having joined from second-tier’s University of Pretoria in July last year. The highly-rated centre-half scored two goals from 20 games he featured in what was his first season in the top-flight for the Birds.