Abdeslam Ouaddou explains why he will not fully celebrate Carling Black Label Cup despite Orlando Pirates bagging third trophy in three months

After Orlando Pirates defeated All-Stars in the Carling Black Label Cup final, head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou said his mind is already thinking about the next round of the Premier Soccer League.

The league will resume after the Africa Cup of Nations finals, and Ouaddou has stated he is already thinking about it.

“I think we have to give credit to our player for sure, to our club, management, staff, and technical staff. They are doing a wonderful job, so it’s a very good gift for our fans and, club. It’s fantastic,” Ouaddou told SuperSport TV.

“But I’m not surprised because it’s a club that has ambition and knows what they want, and we’re working for them.

"So, we keep working because we have a very important second part of the season; we are going to celebrate this trophy, but we don’t have to forget this part in one corner of our head that the second part of the season will be the most difficult but most interesting as well," he added.

"So, my head is already for the next part of the season; I will celebrate with the guys, but I will think about the second part of the season."

The 47-year-old tactician has hailed his players who successfully executed their campaign against the All-Stars team. Key players like Relebohile Mofokeng, Nkosinathi Sibisi, Sipho Mbule, Sipho Chaine, Evidence Makgopa, Thalente Mbatha, Tshepang Moremi, and Oswin Appollis were not available for Ouaddou on Saturday.

They are with their national teammates preparing for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals that will start on December 21.

However, Ouaddou was happy with those available, as they secured another trophy for the Soweto giants.

“You know, we have had since the beginning of the season the impact players doing a lot for the club; it's the philosophy we wanted to implement this season with the club," Ouaddou added.

“Like I told you, we don’t have any substitutes, only impact players, and we have seen again today the guys who came today; they changed the physiognomy of the match.

"Fantastic goals, but we were patient; it was not easy against All-Stars in the first half. It was difficult to build from the back, but we were patient in the second part of the second half," the MTN8 winner continued.

“Now, we developed our football; we found some space and got quickly into the box to score. So, it’s fantastic for the players; congratulations to them."

After failing to beat Pirates with a selected Carling All-Stars team, the side's head coach, Manqoba Mngqithi, feels they were denied penalties.

“I think it was just unfortunate because, in my opinion, on any other day, we could’ve won the game,” Mngqithi told SuperSport TV.

“We had three, in my opinion, penalty shouts.

“Our passing game was quite good, and our field occupation was quite good, and we had a lot of verticality and movements that threatened the box, and that’s where I thought we created the penalties that I’m talking about.

“From where I was sitting, I’m honestly sure that it was penalties. And if I’m wrong, I will be happy to apologise.”

Before the AFCON break, Pirates moved up the PSL standings and are two points ahead of Mamelodi Sundowns, who are second with 26 points.

After winning three titles in three months, the challenge will be to mount a successful PSL campaign against a Sundowns side that will be keen to defend it.