Mandla Ncikazi delighted to work with Ouaddou at Orlando Pirates insisting Abdeslam 'only kiss people that are close'

When Jose Riveiro left upon the expiry of his contract, many people expected big names at Orlando Pirates to replace him.

The Spaniard had won five trophies during his time at the club, reached the CAF Champions League semi-final, and managed to finish second in the Premier Soccer League for three consecutive seasons.

There were questions about Abdeslam Ouaddou, who had coached only 12 PSL games while with Marumo Gallants before his shocking exit. 

The pressure to deliver worsened following his back-to-back PSL losses with Bucs, but he has slowly steadied the ship.

The former Morocco international has won MTN8, reached the Carling Knockout final, and his team is just three points behind Mamelodi Sundowns, who have played two games more, in the race for the Premier Soccer League crown.

To date, the only hurdle he has failed to overcome is the CAF Champions League, where the Sea Robbers were undone by St Eloi Lupopo of the Democratic Republic of Congo who made the group stage of the annual competition through a penalty shoot-out win after a 3-3 aggregate score.

“Football and sports reflect the society that we come from,” Ncikazi told the media during the Buccaneers' recent visit to a clinic in Diepkloof, Soweto.

“One thing that I’ve picked up from him is that he’s a great human being. He understands that he is an African, and he respects African people. 

"There is his statement where he said he’d use the expertise that he found at the club," 

Very few coaches do that; we don’t trust each other ... we are also scared to be stabbed in the back. Only a confident and a good human being can do that.

“I appreciate him for recognising the people who were already at the club before he arrived; that says a lot about him. Normally, it doesn’t happen that way,” Ncikazi said.

“The relationship I have with him just explains him. He says, ‘I don’t kiss anybody; I only kiss people that are close to me.’ That is a sign that whatever we do together [is great],” said Ncikazi, who’s nine years older than Ouaddou.

“[The CAF Champions League] subject is very important for the club. It’s very difficult because it was one of our targets. But let’s see what the future will say. For now, we’re focusing on the league and the rest of the other competitions. We’re trying to give our best in order to win them," Ouaddou said in the wake of Bucs' exit from the annual competition.

“The lights are still green in other competitions. You can be sure that the players and staff, we'll try to give our everything to reach the targets. But of course, we cannot hide the disappointment because it was one of our targets,” he concluded.

As stated above, elimination from the CAF inter-club competition provided Ouaddou and his technical team a chance to concentrate on domestic competitions.

Mamelodi Sundowns are in CAF Champions League and Kaizer Chiefs are also competing in the CAF Confederation Cup, meaning they will not have a lot of time, like Pirates, to ensure they prepare accordingly for the PSL and other domestic tournaments.

With all the quality and depth at their disposal, Pirates have a chance and an advantage to deliver. 

After the international break, Mamelodi Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs will be in action on the continental assignments as Bucs embark on the Premier Soccer League.

A win on Tuesday at home against Chippa United will at least put them on level points with Masandawana with a game in hand.

It will be a massive psychological boost for the players who are hungry to celebrate the PSL triumph.