- Pirates recently appointed a forwards coach
- Have scored seven goals in last two games
- Chiefs are now considering doing the same
WHAT HAPPENED? The Buccaneers appointed Chickelday at the turn of the New Year and they have so far played three games with him around. He joined a Pirates side that was struggling for goals this season but in the past two games, they have found the back of the net seven times.
Pule is one of the players who have also scored under Chickelday's tutelage and he explains how they have improved.
WHAT WAS SAID: “We have been working very hard to score goals,” Pule told Sowetan Live. “I can say that the arrival of him [Chickelday] has helped us. He has instilled that confidence in us.
“He likes goals and he's a very cool guy. One thing that he's taught us is that when we enter the box, we must keep our hands up so that we can easily explore options to create or score goals.”
AND WHAT’S MORE? Chickelday has been working on how to get the best from a Pirates attack that involves a number of left-footed players. The likes of Pule, Monnapule Saleng, Kabelo Dlamini and Deon Hotto are all left-footed.
“I don't think having a few left-footed players brings about imbalance,” Pule added.
“It's just an unfair assessment because most of the time you have almost the entire team with right-footed players, so where's the imbalance there?
“The most important thing is to have the right attitude. I think the coach's approach is working very well and as one of the left-footers I can say I enjoy playing with other left-footed guys at the club...the understanding is amazing and we've been linking up nicely.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: While Pirates are showing improvements in scoring, their Soweto rivals Kaizer Chiefs have been firing blanks. This has seen Amakhosi coach Arthur Zwane recently saying they need to look for a forwards coach.
The role of a coach working with strikers has become more appreciated in South Africa after Manchester United became sharper upfront following their appointment of Benni McCarthy to coach their attackers.
WHAT NEXT FOR PIRATES? This coming weekend, Pirates visit struggling Marumo Gallants and they hope to keep on improving upfront.
