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By Tshepo Ntsoelengoe

Football Journalist


Davids and Ncikazi set to take up co-coaches role at Pirates?

“There is no title between coach Mandla and I we have just been given a mandate to win on Saturday, that’s it,” said Davids.


Three days to go before Orlando Pirates’ opening DStv Premiership tie against Stellenbosch FC, the club is yet to announce who will be in charge of the team since the departure of Josef Zinnbauer earlier this week. 

REVEALED: Real reasons why Zinnbauer left Orlando Pirates

Assistant coaches Fadlu Davids and Mandla Ncikazi have the capacity to take over the head coach role at Pirates. But the moment, Davids has explained that none of them have title of a head coach or that of being joint coaches, however, the management has given them a clear mandate, which is to secure a win against Stellies at the Orlando Stadium on Saturday.

“There is no title between coach Mandla and I we have just been given a mandate to win on Saturday, that’s it,” said Davids.

“There is no title, we just here to do the job on Saturday. We want to play good football, we want to play high intensive football. A hard working team when we don’t have the ball, high pressing and compactness. When we have the ball we want to see it running on the ground, playing free flowing football and that has been our task in the last two training sessions.”

Davids emphasised that the important thing for him and Ncikazi is to make it a point that they bring back Pirates’ style of play.

“To bring back Orlando Pirates style of play, to bring back this type of football. Our first task is to win (Saturday’s game).

”The Buccaneers will be playing their second game of the season having been involved in the MTN8 Cup last weekend. In that tie, they lost out to neighbours Swallows FC, after a Rudzaigh Gamildien’s brace secured a 2-1 victory for the Birds at Pirates home ground.

That game saw Zinnbauer handing his resignation two days later at the club, ending his coaching stint with the Buccaneers, which started in December 2019.