Durban – Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro has revealed he and his side are riding a wave of pressure that comes with their early season success as they turn their attention to the Nedbank Cup.
The Sea Robbers will travel to the Peter Mokaba Stadium for a potential "banana skin" clash against ABC Motsepe League outfit Dondol Stars tomorrow at 3 pm.
Riveiro’s first few months in the South African top flight were riddled with uncertainty as his seemingly thin "CV" raised questions about whether he was the right man to rebuild one of the continent’s biggest clubs.
However, a majority of those critics were quickly made to "eat their words" as the Spaniard led Pirates to the MTN8 Cup title, disposing of the all-mighty Mamelodi Sundowns in the process.
Now with three-quarters of the season gone and still contending for a spot in next season’s CAF champions league tournament, and in the last eight of another cup competition, all eyes are on Riveiro and Pirates once more.
The 47-year-old mentor appeared in front of the media on Thursday, and dismissed any potential concerns about his side feeling pressure to emulate their MTN8 victory.
“Working for a club like Orlando Pirates means expectations are always high and everybody expects us to be in the next round; for all of you we’ve already won the game, and that’s the kind of pressure that comes with being at a club like this,” he said.
He further added: “It’s a competition and there’s an opponent in front who wants the same thing as us, so they’ll always be under pressure but it’s not negative.”
“Imagine if I told you we’re going into this game without any pressure; it would look arrogant or relaxed, which is not the case, we’re 100% concentrating on the task.”
The Buccaneers have already beaten Motsepe Championship sides All Stars FC and Venda Football Academy in this season’s Nedbank Cup.
However, they now come up against a side from an even lower league who are beaming with confidence, having already captured the scalps of SuperSport United and AmaZulu.
Pirates needed extra time to dispose of Venda and Riveiro has not forgotten about that match and expects another competitive contest against the Dondol Stars.
“We know it’s gonna be complicated, we have experience already in the Nedbank to deal with teams in the lower leagues and how difficult it is to get the results in the 90 minutes that allow you to go through to the next round,” he said.
IOL Sport