ORLANDO Pirates coach Jose Riveiro has urged his troops not to get carried away by their red-hot form, saying it’s always important to strive to get better.
Pirates have had a fine start to the season. They are in the CAF Champions League group stage and the MTN8 final, and are second in the Betway Premiership.
They begin their CAF group stage campaign later in the year, while they host Stellenbosch FC in the MTN8 final at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday, October 5 (6pm kick-off).
Their league campaign is also off to a flyer as they’ve had a perfect start, winning two games on the bounce after beating Chippa United and Polokwane City at their Orlando Stadium home.
But while Pirates’ 3-0 win over Polokwane on Heritage Day gave them a huge morale-boost ahead of their league visit to Richards Bay in Umlazi on Sunday (3pm kick-off), Riveiro has sent a stern warning to his troops.
“The performances and the numbers that we are providing right now are helpful for all of us. They are confirmation that we are working in the right way,” Riveiro said.
“But for someone who didn’t watch our games, and they are checking their phones to see that Pirates won, they’ll probably think it was easy and we are going to win everything.
“But we know how difficult it’s going to be. We need to continue working hard, remain humble and understand that victories are coming because we are working hard.
“The moment we don’t do that, we won’t find ourselves in this space. We need to keep our feet on the ground and look forward. We know where we want to be.”
Riveiro’s troops must continue with the never-say-die attitude that has seen them rack up results in the past few games even when they were far from their best.
Against ‘Rise and Shine’, they scored all three goals in the second half via Monnapule Saleng and a late brace by substitute Evidence Makgopa.
Riveiro’s approach was interesting from the outset as he used an attacking Kabelo Dlamini in a central defensive position, instead of a natural like Makhehleni Makhaula.
“The concept of a ‘defensive midfielder’ doesn’t exist in my world – every midfielder must defend when we are out of possession,” Riveiro said of his approach.
“But I understand the question – it’s about the profile and conditions of the players who are on the field at that moment.
“We try to be a team that’s balanced in all phases of the game. It’s easy to be tempted to rely on the talent and the capacity to play forward when you have a squad like we do.”
After Makhaula and Makgopa came off the bench to stabilise possession in the engine room and score the brace respectively, all of Pirates’ players seem to be raising their hands whenever they are called upon.
That pleases Riveiro, who knows that everyone has to be hands-on to get the team where they need to be in terms of performance and results.
“I am happy, and they know, with the contribution from the bench,” Riveiro said.
“It was key in Botswana (against Jwaneng Galaxy in the Champions League), against Chippa, Jwaneng at home, and today, it was exceptionally good.
“Like everyone who’s not in the starting 11, it’s difficult for him (Makgopa). But the people who are coming from the bench are showing they are ready to die for the team.
“That’s a very good thing for all of us. Players are there waiting for opportunities, and it’s the same with Karim (Kimvuidi) and (Nkosinathi) Sibisi... They are performing at the level we need.”
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Riveiro is not condoning the fact that he needs to tap into his substitutions to control the game. Rather, he wants his team to dominate from the outset.
However, the Spaniard has been coaching long enough to know that he won’t always get his way, so Pirates must adapt to the demands of the game.
“There are tactical adjustments during the game according to the approach of the opponent,” the Spaniard explained.
“The opponent, same as us, when they are on the ball, they’ll allow us some certain spaces. The other type of space is the one that we are going to create due to our game-plan.
“It’s the same with the other direction. Without trying to sound smart, we need to adapt to the circumstances. But the idea is for the opponent to adapt to ours.”