Orlando Pirates News Today: What makes Chaine tick, CAF Champions League warning & more

Latest Orlando Pirates news, including high praise for goalkeeper Sipho Chaine and Abdeslam Ouaddou issues CAF Champions League warning to his players.

Ouaddou explains what makes Chaine tick

Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has praised goalkeeper Sipho Chaine as one of the men who gets his team going.

Chaine has become a key figure at Pirates with his performances also leading the team to success and Ouaddou says the experienced star is one of the vocal presences in the dressing room who he relies on a lot besides what he does on the pitch.

“You see, in my game model, in the way that I’m coaching, I have always given importance to the whole team, of course, to the players,” Ouaddou said after his team’s 1-0 win over African Stars of Namibia in the CAF Champions League on Saturday.

“But you always need a spine, and the spine is the goalkeeper, the pair of central defenders, the six, the ten and the nine. And I need to have a leader in every line.

“It’s important to have a well-oiled machine. You need to have strategic leaders in every line.”

The Moroccan coach says given Chaine is the last line of defence, his high level of concentration has been key at crucial moments of the game.

“And sometimes you have to be hard, you know, not have to be a nice boy, you know, to wake up people who are sleeping. Sometimes you need to shout. You need to wake them up,” he added.

Pirates given warning: ‘It’s not over yet’

Meanwhile, coach Ouaddou has insisted to his players not to rest on their laurels ahead of their Champions League return leg on Friday.

Pirates secured a slim 1-0 lead in the first leg and if they avoid defeat at home, they will make a return to the group stages after missing out last season.

“I cannot say we have one foot in the group stages; we still have an important second half there, and we will have to prepare for this to qualify for the group stages,” said Ouaddou after the game.

“It’s an important target for the club, the technical team and the players, so we’ll rest and prepare well so we can start that game to win it.”