Orlando Pirates might have failed to win silverware for yet another season, but their boss Irvin Khoza will not specifically point fingers at Milutin Sredojevic and his technical team.
Bucs played second fiddle to Mamelodi Sundowns for the second consecutive season, which led some to question whether or not Micho is still the right man to lead Pirates out of their barren patch, but Khoza has challenged everyone at the club to improve ahead of next season.
“You can’t talk about the technical team. It is an effort of everybody. It is not only about the technical team,” Khoza was quoted as saying by IOL.
“It's all about how players respond mentally and how serious are they in terms of giving the technical team support. It's all about how they behave on and off the field. It is everybody’s role, not only the technical team. It is the responsibility of everyone to come up with a solution. This includes the technical staff, the players themselves and the support system that we’ve put up. It's not only about one person,” he added.
In recent years, Pirates have been known to chop and change coaches as they had looked to rediscover glory, but Khoza is adamant that the club’s fortunes are not just down to the coach.
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“There’s no place in the world that a coach alone can give you results. It is impossible,” Khoza said.
“But they are important in terms of setting up the tempo and maintaining the appetite to always want to do well. They have to guide everyone like the conductor does. But everyone must pull up their socks. We can't shift the blame to one person, it is unfair,” he said.
Furthermore, Khoza admits expectations will be at an all-time high next season.
“The expectations are high from all the stakeholders, whether it is the supporters, sponsors or media,” Khoza continued.
“When we do recruitment we always ask the technical team about the acquisitions that can improve Pirates. They have tried their best in making sure that they are in the final and we finished second in the past two seasons,” he explained.
“There are still things we need to fine tune. We have a new technical staff because of the demands of the game. It is not easy to compete in Africa and at home,” he concluded.
