Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro has explained why there’s no real cause for concern of their lack of goals at this stage of the season.
Pirates have scored three goals in their opening five games but have only conceded two and at present, find themselves third on the table after the 0-0 draw against SuperSport United.
The club struggled for goals in recent seasons and is not a trend unfamiliar to the Premier Soccer League in general, but when probed whether he may have an answer to remedy their issues, Riveiro stated it’s just a matter of time before things click for his squad and has not been able to train them much during this early fixture congestion.
“We are not talking about ‘formative football’, this is not an academy. This is professional football, with a very high level. Improvement is about very small details,” he said in response to iDiski Times during the post-match press conference.
“And we’re working on those things. Unfortunately at this moment, we don’t have much time to train, so we’re doing our best with the time we have.
“But now after these four or five games, we have a good picture of those small spots that we need to work on. And then there’s also the human part, the self-confidence.
“Usually, the guys who score goals when you finish the season, season after season, you will find the same names, there are no big surprises when you finish. So the ones who are used to scoring, they will – so it’s a question of confidence and suddenly it will change.”
The Spaniard who’s been lauded as an ‘obsessive’ tactician who will work non-stop to iron out the imperfections of his squad said he’d be more concerned if there weren’t any chances created rather than the concern being their lack of cutting-edge in the final third.
“A problem… I would be much more worried if I’d be going to the bus thinking that we didn’t arrive in the box or make any chances. We’re only looking for those adaptations that we need to implement and we’re really confident and we know the quality of the group,” he added.
“I’m with them every day, I see them in training, I see how they finish and I know they have the capacity to do it also in the competition, it’s going to happen, we shouldn’t speak so much on this topic, it will happen.”
The Soweto giants host Marumo Gallants on Wednesday evening at Orlando Stadium before travelling to Kwa-Zulu Natal to face Royal AM in their MTN8 opener.
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