Pirates chairman sings Micho, Mokwena praises
Orlando Pirates chairman Irvin Khoza is impressed with the way new coach Micho Sredojevic and his assistant Rulani Mokwena have started the season.
Milutin Sredojevic coach of Orlando Pirates with his assistant Rhulani Mokwena (Sydney Mahlangu /BackpagePix)
Khoza, however, feels it is still too early to judge their performance.
The Buccaneers have played six games thus far but have only lost once, going 1-0 down to defending Absa Premiership champions Bidvest Wits at the Bidvest Stadium last weekend.
Before that, the Soweto giants recorded three wins and two draws in league matches, which has seen them accumulate 11 points and sitting in third spot on the league table.
“We are hoping for the best, but it is still early times. They are bringing good energy to the players and it is giving us hope,” said the Pirates chairman at the club’s announcement of their new three-year sponsorship deal with motoring company Ford at the Orlando Stadium yesterday.
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Khoza went on to explain the importance of Pirates doing well, especially with the club having endured tough times over the past two seasons which saw them fail to lift any silverware. And now having brought Micho back into the team with the Serb having had a spell with Bucs in his early coaching career in 2007, the Bucs chairman added that he has seen some positives in Micho and Mokoena and the pair are expected only to improve on the club’s rich history.
“It is important to make sure you bring in coaches who are energised and motivated. It is not going to be easy for them, but you can see they mean well,” Khoza continued.
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“The target is the history – as a coach how are you going to help improve the history of the club? We don’t set targets, Pirates have achieved everything. When we won the Champions League we motivated Bafana Bafana to win the Afcon and when we won back- to-back trebles, we motivated other teams to do well.”
Khoza will surely be expecting the team to bounce back from the Wits loss when they travel north for a meeting with Polokwane City at the old Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday.
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