Pirates want to just regain their poise
It’s all about picking up the pieces and lifting the team’s morale for Orlando Pirates coach Josef Zinnbauer, whose side saw their eight Absa Premiership games unbeaten run ended by old rivals Kaizer Chiefs last weekend.
Josef Zinnbauer, coach of Orlando Pirates (Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix)
The Buccaneers lost 1-0 to Amakhosi with the victory taking Chiefs points tally to 48 – leading their closest chasers in the Premiership title race, Mamelodi Sundowns by seven points. Sundowns however have a have a game in hand.
READ: Sundowns have a better chance to overtake Chiefs than Pirates – Zinnbauer
Pirates, meanwhile, missed out on the opportunity to cut the gap to only three points and now find themselves nine points behind sitting in third place on the log.
Zinnbauer stressed the need for his side to continue improving their performances and will certainly be looking for a top performance when they meet Golden Arrows at Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium in Durban tomorrow.
“We need to improve the squad more and more. We have young players. Kabelo Dlamini was in and as a young player he needs experience. If we don’t give him experience he won’t grow as a player and it’s the same thing we do when it comes to improving the team.
“We are creating chances; we have good build-ups; we have good counter-attacks and good transition. But we need time to get big points. We now go to the players and say take your self-confidence back it’s not a big deal that we lost,” said the German mentor.
The Pirates mentor was eager to win the derby to give the club’s supporters something to cheer about.
“My wish was to give back to the supporters what they have been giving us in the last 10 weeks… It was a game for supporters. It’s important for us to improve the team and have a target. But I don’t know what the target is as yet.”
Pirates meet an Arrows side occupying eighth place on the log with 31 points from 22 games. Steve Komphela’s charges will go into this game following a 1-1 draw with Highlands Park at home.
Abafana Bes’thende have also made it clear that they want to ensure their top eight position is secured and a win against the mighty Buccaneers will be a big boost for the Durban based side.
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