Orlando Pirates News Today: Ouaddou aims dig at title doubters, comments on Tito’s resurgence & more

Latest news about Orlando Pirates in the last 24 hours including Abdeslam Ouaddou’s take on Patrick Maswanganyi’s form and why he thinks critics have been silenced.

Ouaddou reveals what is behind Tito’s resurgence

Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou feels midfielder Patrick Maswanganyi is performing well now because he has come to grips with his high intensity football.

Maswanganyi has been playing regularly in the last couple of months after initially dealing with spells on the bench and he now has 10 goals and four assists this season, including two and an assist in his last two games.

“I’m very proud of him. I think he is finding his feet and adapting to the intensity we demand, because at the beginning of the season, the high-intensity style I want to play was perhaps a challenge,” Ouaddou said as per FARPost.

“But now he gets it. He now exactly meets the expectations, especially in the position that he’s playing. He can score and deliver assists, and he’s been free in that area, and he helps the team too much in the control of the game. Especially in the heart of the game. It’s very important to have this kind of player.”

Appollis credits good form to camaraderie

Pirates winger Oswn Appollis says the team spirit within the squad is making everyone thrive and that is why they are closing in on a first title since 2012.

“And we wanted to score more goals, but 3-0, we take it and focus on the next game,” Appollis told Orlando Pirates TV after their win over Magesi FC. “All thanks to my teammates for sharing the ball with me, I share with them, so it’s a team effort.”

“You know, that’s why we as players, there’s more players signing in the squad is because of the team.”

Orlando Pirates coach aims dig at title doubters

Orlando Pirates boss Abdeslam Ouaddou has aimed a thinly veiled dig at his team’s critics who doubted whether they could match the quality of Mamelodi Sundowns.

“A lot of people were speaking about the fact that we lost the title,” he said. “But as long as mathematically you can reach this target, you just have to play. It’s what I try to explain to the people and to my players. My players, they understand me.”

“It’s what we did since the beginning of the season. When people started to be doubtful about us, we just kept quiet and kept working,” he added.