Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro says winning the Nedbank Cup should always be a target but finishing as high as possible in the league holds massive importance.
Pirates are currently in third place, the CAF Confederation Cup qualification spot, five points behind second-placed SuperSport United and 22 behind leaders Mamelodi Sundowns.
With CAF Champions League football still attainable and the Nedbank Cup title, having already secured the MTN8 crown this season, the Spaniard was asked which holds more importance to the club for the rest of the 2022/23 campaign.
“We still have a lot of things to play for until the end, it’s very important, very important for the club and for us as a group to finish as high as possible [in the league],” Riveiro said.
“We have overcome the teams who are ahead of us, that’s our objective, we want to finish the season as high as possible, and obviously have the possibility to at least be in a final. I think a club like Pirates needs to be in a final every season, as many as possible.
“Then you go to the final, you know the story, there’s a combination of a lot of factors to be the better team in a game like that, but the possibility to be in a final for a club like Pirates, it must be motivation enough to do our best [in the Nedbank Cup].”
With Pirates not challenging for the league title with a squad many believe could challenge Sundowns, there’s a sense of disappointment, but the former Inter Turku coach is determined to finish off the campaign strongly to build momentum into next season.
“We have an experience recently in the MTN8 final, being the better team in Durban at the time, so we want to replicate that and have that experience together in a final but that’s something that will only come if we do our job against Venda, which will be difficult,” he added.
“At the same time, we have dreams but the reality is we’re still far from that possibility, but we want to fight to be in the final – but at the same time, the league for me is the most important, where you show and have the opportunity to be the best one. That’s what we want, to be in the group of the best teams at the end of the season – it’s not a discussion.”
Pirates host Venda Football Academy in the last-16 clash of the domestic cup this evening at Orlando Stadium (20h00).
