Orlando Pirates head Jose Riveiro coach admits keeping the players on the periphery of the first team happy has been challenging in his debut season.
Pirates started the season with 36 first-team players but it’s since been cut down to 33 players used with Kopano Thuntsane and DStv Diski Challenge captain Nduimso Ngiba the only players yet to be used in the league.
Bafana Bafana forwards Evidence Makgopa has featured only 39 minutes while the likes of Kermit Erasmus, Ndumiso Mabena, Souaibou Marou have fallen behind Terrence Dzvukamanja in the pecking order.
The midfield is also packed with options eight options in central midfield, leaving several out on the fringes as Riveiro admitted he’s not one for squad rotation as he seeks consistency with the squad – which has likely caused a bit of disharmony at times.
“It [could be] a long discussion, this is football, it’s obvious, every player in every squad, Pirates is not an exception, they are happy when they are playing, they are 100% happy when they are playing, that is the challenge,” Riveiro said when asked by iDiski Times about the players with limited game time.
“The challenge is to manage the group, making sure they everyone feels part of what we do, even the players who are not in the matchday squad, they must feel part of the result especially when it’s positive.
“During the season usually everybody has the chance to show and get the opportunity to show that they are capable to play and compete in a team like ours, but we’re humans, we all have emotions, there are difficult moments [with the players] during the season.
“To be honest, it was a challenge for me, obviously as a coach, to manage a big group where every player could be a starting eleven player. But I’m very lucky because the players are making the task very easy for me.”
However, the Spaniard says most of the squad has bought into the vision he’s looked to implement at the Soweto giants, with the MTN8 secured and second place and the Nedbank Cup still on offer for the remainder of the 2022/23 season.
“Their behavior from the beginning until now has been top and very professional – that’s the most important thing in every group, it doesn’t matter if it’s sport, or we talk about anything else and everything else,” he continued.
“Everyone must understand their role, and have to accept that sometimes the role is secondary during a [certain period] but it doesn’t mean it can’t be changed in the future, so our obligation, our responsibility and our players as well, is to be prepared for opportunities and when you get it, make sure you don’t need a second one.
“That’s the competition, that’s professional football, we all need to accept and understand that we are all emotional and in our team, there’s also space for emotions to have open conversations about individual situations, and as I said so far it’s been quite good and stable in that sense.”
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Pirates face off against Venda Football Academy on Saturday evening at Orlando Stadium (20h00).
