Pirates ready for battle against City

As Orlando Pirates fight for the Absa Premiership title, head coach Micho Sredojevic believes all they have to try and do is to take the pressure off the players and carry it as a technical team ahead of their game against Cape Town City at the Athlone Stadium today.

Bucs have been on top of the league table for some time now, and with only two games remaining, everyone associated with the club is itching to see the club end their almost five-year trophy drought.

With that in mind, Bucs are close to reaching their goal and as they edge nearer, there is a lot of pressure coming through with the side level on 53 points with second-placed Mamelodi Sundowns after 28 games, separated by goal difference, so they can’t afford any slip-ups.

However, Sredojevic believes his side is ready for battle and the quality in his squad can deliver the desired result.

“There is a thin line between getting the result and not getting it. We are fully aware we have the power, talent and quality of our players. We are fully aware we have to have total focus and concentration to be tactically aware of the things such as us as a technical team to be mentally strong and the take the pressure off the players so they can take responsibility on the field of play,” said the Bucs coach.

“We believe we are fit, we believe we are tactically and technically ready to be effective for the game on Saturday (today).

The Pirates coach stressed the importance of his players being fully concentrated for the whole game and also expects the club’s fans to come in their numbers so that they can rally behind his charges.

“We just need to switch on for 90 minutes, we believe that it is one of those matches where we have to give everything and see what football will pay us back. I have no doubt that with the support from our fans, whom I expect to fill the Athlone Stadium and the performance we want to deliver on the field, we believe we shall find the key to get that performance and by extension the result.”

The last time Bucs and Cape City met the game ended in a thrilling 2-2 draw at the Orlando Stadium in September last year.

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