Arendse expecting more goals from Vincent Pule

SuperSport United assistant coach Andre Arendse has weighed in on the big arrival of winger Vincent Pule from Orlando Pirates. 

The 32-year-old has hit the ground running at Matsatsantsa a Pitori, scoring on debut against his former team at Orlando Stadium last Saturday.

United were ultimately on the losing side after the Buccaneers scored two goals in extra-time to take the MTN8 quarter final tie 3-1. Out of respect for Pirates, Pule chose not to celebrate after his equaliser in the second half. 

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Arendse was doing media duties following their exit from the top eight competition due to the red card to head coach Gavin Hunt who was sent off by referee Abongile Tom for remonstrating on the touchline.

“He’s (Pule) a player you’d want to have in your team any day. He has worked with Gavin and me before and we know what he’s capable of despite his age, which is still young,” Arendse said. 

“We have seen what he can do in pre-season, training and also in the game. We worked him around different positions in the team. He offered us a more attacking role today. Firstly, in wider areas and then we brought him closer behind Bradley (Grobler) when he was still on the field to give him support. 

“He’s got goals in him and my hats off to him for being respectful after scoring against his old club which is the right thing to do but that is just the nature of Pule and I think we are going to have a good season with a player like that.”

With the new Betway Premiership season set to get underway only on September 14, United have to navigate through another month without competitive football while also hoping that veteran striker Bradley Grobler recovers from a knock he suffered against Pirates.

“It’s a difficult one and I think all the clubs that are not involved (MTN8) will tell you the same thing. We were lucky but there are other clubs that won’t play a game in that amount of time,” Arendse said about their mini-break before the league kicks off.

“We have to manage it well because it has really been a tough, extensive and hardworking pre-season which has been delayed. So we have to look at combining the work on the training ground with a few days off to recharge again and then we’ll look for one or two friendlies just to keep the team momentum going.

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“Yes, it was a groin strain we’re hoping that it’s nothing too serious. We pulled him (Grobler) off straight away and we’ll have it assessed. He’s a strong character and I’ve got no worries about him. We’ve got a couple of weeks now and we can bring in players back from injury and Bradley is one of them. He’s a massive part of the team and we need to do what we can to bring him back before the league starts.”