Pirates coach Riveiro sets eyes on league title next season

Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro has set his eyes on fighting to win the DStv Premiership next season.

ALSO READ: Wydad end Sundowns’ Champions League dream

This is Pirates finished strong in the 2022/23 campaign, which saw the club end in second place on the league standings and qualifying for the Caf Champions League.

The Buccaneers ended their campaign behind the Brazilians after accumulating 54 points in 30 games following a dominant performance against AmaZulu, which saw them thump the KwaZulu-Natal based club 4-0 in their last league game of the season.

Goals from Thabiso Monyane, Relebohile Ratomo, Monnapule Saleng and Kabelo Dlamini sealed the win for the Soweto giants against Usuthu.

“It is not everything we want (second place finish). We were 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,” said the Pirates mentor 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 (next season) and if we manage to be competitive and play all the competitions with the same passion, I am sure we will do well.”

READ MORE: Pirates qualify for Champions League after thrashing AmaZulu

Riveiro praised his players for the hard work they have done throughout the season. And he says managing to qualify for the Champions League is vital for the team.

“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 next season which is a competition that we should be competing in every year,” he added.

“We will celebrate the win because what we did is important. And on Monday, we shift our focus to the final [Nedbank Cup final against Sekhukhune United] because we hope for a good performance.”

Pirates will lock horns with Sekhukhune at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Saturday.

This will be the third meeting between Pirates and Sekhukhune this campaign. In their last two meetings, Babina Noko defeated Bucs 2-0 in the first round of the league, before playing to a 1-1 draw just two weeks ago.