Riveiro keen on bringing Orlando Pirates’ Cup consistency to PSL – ‘I wish I knew the secret’

The Spaniard hopes his players can get the elusive consistency in their bid to win the South African top-flight football 

Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro has conceded he is working hard to find a solution to his team’s Premier Soccer League’s inconsistencies.

During his debut season in South African football, the Spaniard helped Bucs to finish second in the league with 54 points, 16 behind the champions. In the next campaign, the Soweto giants fell further; they concluded the competition with 50 points, 23 less than the Brazilians.

However, during the same period, Pirates have won two MTN8 and the same number of Nedbank Cup crowns. They are currently in the semi-final of the MTN8 after defeating SuperSport United 3-1 on Saturday.

It is a challenge that we have

The Spaniard has admitted he is working hard to get a solution to the team’s inconsistencies, especially in the PSL.

“I wish I knew what is the secret [to Cup successes and PSL’s struggles], so we can do exactly the same things when we go to the league games and we play for three points,” he said in a presser.

“It’s a challenge that we have, the capacity to not really think about what we are playing for every game. It’s true that so far we’ve managed to have many special nights in the cups… we have a decent record.

“We have a beautiful challenge to go to the group stages in the [Caf] Champions League which we couldn’t do last season and there’s also the league, where we want to be competitive until the end. We need to find the formula to keep our players motivated in each and every game.”

Are fans back in full capacity?

The Orlando Stadium was filled with excited fans, something that caught the attention of Riveiro. He has further appreciated the support the players received even when the scoreline was 1-1.

“I don’t know if it was sold out, but probably close, which isn’t frequent here in Orlando, funny enough. So, it says something about what the fans are feeling right now for these boys and the role they played during the game was crucial,” he continued.

“I didn’t feel any pressure even when SuperSport scored, the fans were patient with us and that’s very important to the guys, especially the young ones, to feel love from the fans even in difficult moments. It’s definitely an extra advantage  that not every team in this league or in this tournament will have, so definitely it’s a very good thing for us.”

Bucs will now turn their attention to the Premier Soccer League which starts on August 9.