Pirates look to bounce back against Celtic

The Buccaneers were unable to prove a thorn in the side of two title contenders last week, as they went down to both Bidvest Wits and Mamelodi Sundowns, the Brazilians cruising to a 2-0 win on Sunday afternoon.

Jonevret was not impressed with how easily his side allowed the opposition to score, labelling Sundowns’ opening goal from Khama Billiat as a “simple goal”.

Jonevret has also admitted to his side’s lack of skill in breaking down the defensive wall of well-organised sides.

“We need to work harder in the future to break down teams like these (Sundowns). We need to have good sessions and bounce back against Celtic … we need to have more players in and around the box.”

Phunya Sele Sele find themselves in a relegation battle, and scraped a point from a goalless draw with SuperSport United last Wednesday.

Lehlohonolo Seema’s side can pick up a surprise league double over Pirates with a win, having stunned the Buccaneers at Orlando Stadium just before Christmas, though Jonevret’s Bucs did beat Celtic more recently in the quarterfinals of the Nedbank Cup.

“It is going to be a tough game (against Celtic) and we have many of them now.” added Pirates’ Swedish coach.

“I watched (Kaizer) Chiefs against (Golden) Arrows, and they fought Chiefs to the last minute. I am prepared for the race until the end of the season because the difference between top and bottom teams is not that big. Hopefully we can have a great one.”