Orlando Pirates wing-back Bandile Shandu admits they share the disappointment with the supporters after losing to Maritzburg United.
Pirates missed the chance to push themselves ahead at the summit of the table and have now dropped to fifth place, two points behind league leaders and champions Mamelodi Sundowns after the 1-0 defeat at the Harry Gwala Stadium.
Shandu says there’s no added pressure as it’s something that’s constant being associated with the Soweto giants but remains confident they have what it takes to turn the tide again.
“You play for Orlando Pirates there will always be pressure, it’s a big club, big team, big institution, so I think that comes regardless,” Shandu said on Thursday at Rand Stadium.
“For us, we were disappointed as well, we wanted to win it but we just couldn’t score at the end of the day, so I think going into this game, we just need to make sure every chance we get, we put it in the back of the net.
“If you look at our previous games, we’re always making chances and yeah we’re an attacking team, as long as we [start] converting those chances, we have a better chance of winning.”
With the Buccaneers last winning the league title in the 2011/12 season, Shandu denied it’s weighing on the shoulders of the players in the squad and suggested they are one-tracked-minded on taking it one game at a time.
“I think it’s taking each game at a time,” he added in reference to the pressure of the decade-long title drought at the club.
“We can’t look too far ahead, even though you have to. But we can’t look and focus too far ahead – we just need to make sure we win the games that we play now. The games that we play this month, the games we play this weekend.
“So I think that’s our mindset right now, we’re focusing on each and every game as it comes.”
