Pirates coach Jose Riveiro. Image: Gavin Barker/BackpagePix
Orlando Pirates boss not thrilled with second place
Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro doesn’t want to celebrate mediocrity despite Champions League qualification.
Pirates coach Jose Riveiro. Image: Gavin Barker/BackpagePix
Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro promises to fight for the PSL title and believes his team will be able to improve next season.
Riveiro’s first season in charge ended with a second-place finish after a 4-0 final day win over Amazulu.
With the win, the Buccaneers and Downs, who were eliminated from the competition on Saturday by Wydad Casablanca, will both be part of the Caf Champions League for the next season.
ALSO READ: Orlando Pirates book CAF Champions League spot
Orlando Pirates boss not thrilled
Jose Riveiro, the head coach of the Pirates, is not entirely happy with his team’s league performance this year, though.
“It is not everything we want, we are not fighting to be second but we could not challenge the current champions the whole season. We will take second place now but we will come back next season,” Riveiro told SuperSport TV after the game.
“We have to challenge every team next season, not only Sundowns. There is room for improvement and we need to keep fighting. Everyone will start with zero points and if we manage to be competitive and play all the competitions with the same passion, I am sure we will do well,” the Pirates mentor added.
ALSO READ: Kaizer Chiefs embarrassed by 10-man Cape Town City
Back in the big time
Orlando Pirates will be participating in the Champions League for the first time since the 2018–19 campaign, and Riveiro thinks that having won the tournament in 1995, the Sea Robbers are deserving of being a part of the continent’s premier club competition.
ALSO READ: Mamelodi Sundowns dumped OUT of CAF Champions League
“Congratulations to my players, it has been a tough season but we are showing good symptoms for the future. We managed to put Pirates in the Champions League for next season which is a competition that we should be competing in every year,” he said.
“We will celebrate the win because what we did is important and on Monday, we shift our focus to the final because we hope for a good performance in the final,” said Riveiro.
