Johannesburg — Jose Riveiro is a players’ coach — hence he believes that his Premiership Coach of the Month award is a testament to Orlando Pirates’ “brilliant performances” in April.
Regarded as a “plumber” by his detractors due to his then underwhelming CV when he landed the Pirates coaching job, Riveiro has since silenced those critics.
Under his guidance, Pirates are headed for one of their best seasons as they are on the cusp of finishing second in the Premiership and winning a Cup double — having won the MTN8, while they are in the Nedbank Cup final.
Pirates will face Sekhukhune United in the Nedbank Cup final after beating eternal rivals Kaizer Chiefs in the semi-finals last weekend.
Riveiro was chosen as the Coach of the Month for April among his peers this week, having won five league matches on the trot — as his team leads the race for the second-place finish.
Speaking during a media briefing on Thursday at Pirates’ Rand Stadium base ahead of his team's penultimate league clash against Sekhukhune at home on Saturday, Riveiro credited his team's performances for the accolade.
“I think we are the Team of the Month — more than Coach of the Month,” said Riveiro who is now a two-time winning Coach of the Month after winning his first award in August.
“It’s fine, there are always going to be individual awards in football. But I think it was a fantastic month, the performances of the team were brilliant — we got fantastic results and that’s the consequence.
“But the truth of the matter is that we were probably the best Team of the Month. So hopefully, we can do it again now in May.”
The matter of facing Sekhukhune twice in the space of three weeks — and in two competitions the league and Nedbank Cup — also doesn’t faze the Spaniard who survived a torrid reception in SA when he arrived.
So much so that he is not thinking about the final against Sekhukhune at Loftus on 27 May just yet. He is putting all his eggs in Saturday’s league clash.
“It’s very easy because the next objective for us is to consolidate our position on the log and make sure that we are second,” Riveiro said.
“I am not thinking about the Cup final and who’s going to be our opponent or whether it’s going to be attractive enough.
“We know that finals are different games than league fixtures so we are trying to prepare for the game — especially mentally — because every preparation should already be done in terms of structure and organisation.
“All the players are in the last part of the season, so everything is pretty clear for all. It’s all about our physical and mentally recovery.”
IOL Sport