Pirates face SuperSport with Riveiro still in search of a consistent line-up

Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro has revealed he is still trying to find consistency in his starting line-up, but the level of competition for places in the squad is making his job difficult as he prepares his team for a meeting with SuperSport United at the Lucas Moripe Stadium on Sunday.

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There have been plenty of changes to the Buccaneers starting eleven in their opening four games of the DStv Premiership, and it seems like it will be something that will continue for some time, with Riveiro yet to see a team that wins convincingly, even though he admits he doesn’t like rotation.

The Buccaneers have recorded two wins, one loss and one draw up to now.

“We are trying to get some stability in our starting eleven, but it’s not easy because players are fighting for positions,” said Riveiro.

“Tapelo Xoki is a guarantee (to do well) when he plays. Sandile Mthethwa and Paseka Mako, are also ready to play. So, it’s not easy for me to make a decision. We try to have three or four players maximum who are fresh (for games) because we played four games in 12 days. You can imagine, this is football and it’s too much,” said the Spain-born coach.

“I don’t believe in rotations, but the strategy is to keep players fresh a little. We need to find our structure. I don’t have favourite starters or favourite strikers, I have 30 players in the squad, and I’m trying to get as much as possible in them because that’s my job. And so far they are competing really well and making my job very difficult in deciding who is going to play.”

Riveiro will be keen to restore some faith from the club’s fans by getting a win against SuperSport, especially with the Pretoria based club still trying to find its feet this campaign having lost two games and drawn one.

This should be a thrilling encounter where SuperSport will be going all out to get their first victory.