Johannesburg - Orlando Pirates’ coach Jose Riveiro has conceded that they lose sleep and their appetite whenever things are not going well for them on the field of play.
Pirates had a gloomy start to the second half of the season. They lost their first two matches to extend their losses to three games in a row in the league.
That feat put Riveiro and his charges under a lot of pressure heading to their first home game of the New Year, 2023, against Golden Arrows on Saturday.
Pirates finally bounced back to winning ways against Arrows, though, thanks to goals from Monnapule Saleng, Terrence Dzvukamanja and Vincent Pule.
Arrows who had come to this match on high, after beating the title chasing SuperSport in their last game, had equalised from Velemseni Ndwandwe.
But that wasn't enough for them to get a point as the duo of Dzvukamanja and Pule came off the bench to wrap up all the three points for the hosts.
Riveiro, who had argued earlier this week that they are playing good football although they were not winning games, opened up about their frustrations.
“They know who they are and where they are playing. We all know that we always have to do our best,” Riveiro said of his team's never-say-die-attitude.
Ezimnyama Ngenkani Ziyakhanya ✨
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Monnapule Saleng puts Orlando Pirates ahead inside half an hour ⚫☠
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“There are a lot of eyes following and monitoring us. We are in a team where we cannot have a break. We speak about performance and improvement.
“And because there are good competitors, one of the things we do during the week in every exercise is to ensure that we compete to our best of abilities.
“In general, everyone who’s behind me at this club is generally competitive. It’s people who don’t sleep when we don’t win (trying to see what’s wrong).”
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🥅 28' Saleng
🥅 90'+ Dzvukamanja
🥅 90'+ Pule
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He added: “If I don’t win, I don’t have dinner, sleep or even breakfast. It’s too much at times. It’s the same for players although you think they don’t care.
“They suffer. Today, it meant that they had to finish with three points. And they did what they were supposed to do: go on until the end and be braver.”
Pirates are nowhere near where they want to be on the standings. They are fifth with 21 points, 19 behind log leaders and rivals Mamelodi Sundowns.
Riveiro’s men will be hoping to make it two wins in two games when they host the 13th-placed Stellenbosch in Orlando, Soweto, on Sunday afternoon.
@MihlaliBaleka