Former Orlando Pirates striker coach Scott Chickelday has clarified to iDiski Times that he was only working with the Buccaneers on a short-term deal.
Chickelday joined the club in the beginning of January, when even coach Jose Riveiro confirmed that the Englishman would help the club’s attacking players.
However, there was never an official statement from the club as to how long Chickelday would work alongside Riveiro and his technical team.
Chickelday himself had stated on social media that he’d only stay for a month at Pirates, but after the impressive results during his time in South Africa, many were still left surprised when he announced his departure in the beginning of the month.
This publication subsequently got hold of the former Tottenham Hotspur and Queens Park Rangers academy coach to get clarity on the situation.
“I’m actually back in the UK,” Chickelday told iDiski Times.
“So I came to South Africa, it was on a short-term contract. It was for just four to five weeks. So that’s all.
“I went out there to work with Pirates. So yeah, it was always a short-term contract. It was never long.
“I think people may have misunderstood and thought that I was there for the whole season. But that was never the case. It was always going to be a short-term contract.”
Chickelday was also full of praise for Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro, insisting he cannot be credited for the new influx on goals after his arrival.
“I don’t want to take full credit for it, even though I’d like to think I had an input in it,” he added.
“But credit must go to Jo Riveiro. I think he’s a fantastic head coach. He’s a great guy. And he is like I said, the word I like to use for him is fantastic. He’s very, very good.
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“His attention to detail is fantastic. I learned a lot from him. Like, he’ll probably say, he learned from me. He was great to work with, fantastic.
“I would say probably one of the best coaches that I’ve worked with, in football. He knows his football, he is very educated.
“And like I said, we were able to work together on this and it was very good. And if I’m honest with you, I was sad to leave.”
You can read the full exclusive interview with Chickelday in this week’s iDiski Times newspaper, which is out for free at Shoprite stores in Gauteng.
