Has Orlando Pirates tactician Riveiro given up hope of defending his Nedbank Cup ahead of SuperSport United date? 'You don't have time to train & time is not enough to satisfy us as coaches'

This season, Orlando Pirates have done quite well in the competitions they have taken part in.

The Soweto giants successfully defended their MTN8 title, before reaching the Caf Champions League quarter-finals.

Bucs have been delivering in the Premier Soccer League and on Saturday, they play SuperSport United in the Nedbank Cup quarter-final.

Ahead of the Nedbank Cup quarter-final game between his team and Sundowns at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium, Jose Riveiro has conceded that his team has struggled to prepare for the games.

As a matter of fact, the Buccaneers don't have as much depth as it may look on paper, with injuries also affecting them.

It explains why the Spaniard has been cautious in his preparations for the game.

“It’s a knockout game and there are only two possible results there. Therefore, the intention is clear from both teams and that is to be the better team and to go through to the semifinals. Looking at all these things that I have mentioned, it’s promising to be a very good game,” he stated ahead of the game.

“Like I said many times before, the scheduling [of games] is getting to a point when you don’t really have time to train anymore. The time you spend on the field with the players once the competition starts is not enough to satisfy us as coaches. Results are important at the moment and we’re regularly winning games and that helps a lot for the players to be ready for the next one. It’s so difficult to go through this schedule if you’re not getting good results,” commented the Pirates coach," Riveiro concluded.

This is the third time SuperSport and Pirates will be playing each other across all competitions since May 2024.

Bucs have won the previous two games and Gavin Hunt's men will be going for nothing but revenge.