Josef Zinnbauer, coach of Orlando Pirates (Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix)
Having taken charge of the club when they were struggling and outside the top half of the league standings in December, Zinnbauer has made a huge impact at the Buccaneers with the team now counted among the title contenders.
However, the German coach is not interested in championship talk with the Buccaneers sitting in fourth place on the log with 40 points, eight points behind league leaders Kaizer Chiefs.
“We don’t speak about the title. Kaizer Chiefs and Sundowns have more points than us. Our focus is to improve the team. We take it one game at a time, we are not focused on catching up with Kaizer Chiefs or Sundowns,” said Zinnbauer.
“It’s normal for the press to ask questions about the title and I understand but for 10 weeks I have been here (and) no one was asking about the title, no one was asking if we were going to catch up with Kaizer Chiefs. We had gained a point and we are in step into the right direction. But the focus is really for next season, but our concentration now is to get to the end of the season because it is not yet finished. In football anything is possible.”
Pirates have been in good form in the league since he arrival of Zinnbauer, losing only one game in 10.
With the Buccaneers mathematically in with a good chance of snatching the title away from Amakhosi, Zinnbauer adds that just being in the top three will be good for him.
“We have left a lot of points behind. But I think we have been having a very good season. If you give me a top three place and a chance to play in Africa then I will take it.”
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