Continuity is key for Pirates success – Riveiro

It might be a different competition, but Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro wants continuity of positive results as Bucs begin their search for a MTN title with a clash against Royal AM at Chatsworth Stadium on Saturday.

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Pirates have not been consistent in their results since the start of the season, with the club struggling to make winning a habit having recorded three wins, two draws and one loss in the league in Riveiro’s first few weeks with the team.

Bucs head into this daunting tie with the KwaZulu-Natal outfit at the back of a hard fought 1-0 victory over Marumo Gallants in a DStv Premiership clash last Wednesday.

“It’s very important to continue with a positive result even though it is a different competition. But we are the same team and those victories in difficult circumstances will help build confidence and trust,” said Riveiro during a MTN8 press conference held at PSL headquarters in Johannesburg on Thursday.

“We are at the beginning of the season, so the league wins are very important to boost the process. Now we are in a different competition, a knockout game. There is a difference in how you approach these games (league and cup games).”

The Buccaneers and Thwihli Thwahla have already met this campaign, with the Soweto giants emerging as 1-0 winners in the league two weeks ago.

Riveiro acknowledges that Royal AM are tough opponents and believes there won’t be much of a difference from the league match as they now meet in the MTN8.

“We played them one week ago, or eight days ago and in that period none of the teams had time to train, or implement many changes which we don’t have much time to do it (changes) on the field. So, we can expect big changes from both teams even though we both learnt some important things about ourselves that we didn’t know before that game,” the Spain-born coach added.

“We know more about Royal AM as they know more about Pirates. Those small details are going to be in play on Saturday and I don’t think there will be much difference in the way both teams will approach the game. It is just a different scenario, different field, different condition and quality of the field.”