Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro admits their recent run of form bodes well for their objectives for the final stage of the 2022/23 season.
Pirates have won 10 of their last 12 games in all competitions with the defeats coming at the hands of Mamelodi Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs – but they are now the highest scorers in the league since the turn of the year.
Currently in second place, leading SuperSport United on goal difference in the race of CAF Champions League football and two ahead of Amakhosi, Riveiro admits there’s a good energy around the squad ahead of facing Dondol Stars in the Nedbank Cup quarter-final.
“Yes, it’s obviously not only about results but I think what we are expressing on the field recently, how competitive we are in this moment, what the players express during the week, that atmosphere, everything tells you we’re in a good space,” Riveiro said when asked by iDiski Times if they are peaking at the right time of the season.
“The [statistics] are excellent but I will take… what the team is expressing [is important], sometimes you play for the results, but it’s only a result – when you don’t get it, there’s nothing else. And that’s what we are trying to avoid.
“We always try to make sure we put attention in other things, continuous improvement of progression, getting results through our identity we try to express as a collective, and in that sense, I’m a happy coach.
“And obviously I am happy with the recent results – we want to… I think these last stages of the Nedbank [Cup] are coming at a good moment for us and that’s what we want to do on Saturday, to show we really want to go all the way because in these types of games, if you don’t really want, you’re not going [to progress].
“It doesn’t matter if the opponent in front of you is a first, second or third-division team, it’s about ambition, wanting to see yourself in the next round and the moment [of form] says we are ready [for the challenge].”
The Gauteng ABC Motsepe League leaders host Pirates at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane (15h00).
