Orlando Pirates coach Josef Zinnbauer has conceded his side are far from being a formidable team he desires as he seeks better fortunes in their next Premier Soccer League (PSL) match against Stellenbosch on Wednesday.
The Soweto giants kicked off their season with a 1-1 draw against AmaZulu away in Durban but they now return to Orlando Stadium hoping for their first set of maximum points.
“There is a lot of work to be done with the team. We will take things slowly, we are not there yet. A point is a point. It’s important for us, we worked hard for this point,” said Zinnbauer as per Sowetan Live.
“This wasn’t easy ... AmaZulu are a good team. They made high pressure, they fight. It was an away game for us. First game isn’t easy, you saw the results from other games. We have the next game on Wednesday, we must focus on that. We always expect to get three points, a home game now but we know Stellenbosch are a good team.”
Zinnbauer and his men face a Stellenbosch side which also shared the spoils in their opening league match.
The Western Cape side was held 1-1 by PSL returnees Swallows FC at home on Sunday.
Zinnbauer is aware of the possible upset his side could suffer at the hands of Stellenbosch who they edged 1-0 in last season's penultimate league match early in September.
The Buccaneers coach could make some changes in his squad to face Stellies and Zinnbauer says he will “work on a plan” to beat the visitors.
“We need freshness in the team and we’ll know exactly in the next two days what will happen.... the fitness and the spirit in the team‚ then we can make the decision for the next game,” Zinnbauer said.
“We’re always expecting to win the three points and it’s a home game now‚ but we know Stellenbosch is a good team. They’ve got good pressing‚ they always wait for the chance and they can play the counter-attack.
“Don’t forget the game we played against them in the bio-bubble. It was a difficult match for us in the first 15 minutes and then we became better in the game. But we know exactly what we want and we will work on a plan to win these three points.”
Victory over Stellenbosch would spur Pirates ahead of Saturday’s MTN8 semi-final match against their bitter rivals Kaizer Chiefs.
