Pirates news: New player spotted in training; Riveiro faces criticism

Orlando pirates, who have three games in hand after the postponement of their Golden Arrows fixture, lie twelve points behind Mamelodi Sundowns.

The Buccaneers are navigating several key injuries in defence, including Olisa Ndah and Thabiso Sesane – the former hasn’t featured since September last year, but is expected to make his return in the next few weeks, while the latter is ruled out indefinitely and will require surgery.

The answer?

Orlando Pirates are close to promoting 19-year-old centre back, Mbekezeli Mbokazi.

“He [Mbokazi] is doing very well, and the head coach has taken note of his progress,” SoccerLaduma reported.

“There is no rush, but his talent and high work-rate won’t be overlooked. As you know, the senior team coach rewards hard work and he is a great believer in young players. His time is coming.”

Riveiro backlash

Former Orlando Pirates defender Daniel Tshabalala believes Jose Riveiro’s time at Soweto has run it’s course, saying, “it’s all about the preparations. If you are a smart coach, your tactics must be spot-on,

“There must be a lot of analysis taking place because you can’t play the same way every day. At the moment, I see simple things being made difficult. I don’t know whether that’s a new trend in coaching or what,” he added.

“For example, we should not have lost the game we played against Sundowns. We were not supposed to lose. You need skillfull players against Sundowns,

“The Pirates coach is a good coach, but from my perspective, it seems he has reached his limits. That’s my opinion. Winning the league is not easy, and I believe Riveiro’s plans are too limited,

“Sometimes a coach’s plans cannot be executed effectively depending on the players at his disposal. To me, Pirates should be a possession-based club,

“However, I don’t think Pirates will win the league based on what I see. It’s going to be a steep mountain for them to climb to achieve that,

“Matched are becoming unpredictable, there are no guarantees anymore,” he continued.

“A strong team is no longer assured of success like it used to be. A draw tonight would feel like a loss because when you’re aiming to win the league, every point counts, especially when you’re playing against a strong team,

“We can only secure a win if we dig deeper with the right attitude. A draw us simply not acceptable today.”

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