Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro admits not challenging Mamelodi Sundowns for the DStv Premiership is not good enough for the club in his debut season.
Ahead of the Nedbank Cup final against Sekhukhune United on Saturday, which represents the Buccaneers playing in every single game on offer in the 2022/23 domestic season of South African football, they have the MTN8 and CAF Champions League qualification by virtue of finishing as league runners-up.
They finished 16 points behind Masandawana, who wrapped up the title with seven games to spare mainly due to the Buccaneers enduring a run of one win in seven games between October and January.
In the build-up to the cup final against Babina Noko, midfielder Miguel Timm stated that winning two cups won’t make up for their league failure, which the Spaniard agreed with and stated it showcases the competitive spirit brewing inside the camp.
“I don’t want to sound arrogant, because I’m not, but it’s a competition and what we want in every competition is [to] play until the end, have the opportunity to fight until the end and we didn’t in the league, it’s a fact,” Riveiro said when asked if a potential domestic double makes up for not competing for the league title.
“That’s something that we accept and we try to correct and understand what happened in that competition that we didn’t have the opportunity to fight until the end.
“At the same time, we have to be proud of what we did, especially in 2023, in the last 12-14 games, when we managed to be consistent, to be one of the best teams in terms of performances. I think we were the best team [in the league in 2023] based on results but also the performances were good. So we look to the future with optimism.
“But that’s the pain, that we couldn’t fight until the end. Our focus was to fight until the end in the Nedbank, in the MTN8, and I’m not just saying that because of the results, because we are in the final, no.
“In the league, we were not, I’m repeating myself, we were not consistent, it’s a fact. We collected too many bad results in a period of the season and that’s why we couldn’t fight.
“In this Miguel expressed it, it’s there in the locker room and we try to do better the next time we have the opportunity.”
Pirates and Sekhukhune lock horns for the final game of the South African season on Saturday at Loftus Versfeld at 18h00.
