Orlando Pirates won't rule out Giovanni Solinas

Orlando Pirates could not confirm nor deny whether Giovanni Solinas could soon join the club as the new permanent head coach.

The Italian tactician, who parted ways with Free State Stars on Wednesday, has been linked with the coaching job since last year.

Bucs are currently looking for a coach to take over from caretaker Augusto Palacios, who has been under pressure due to the club's poor run of results in the Premier Soccer League (PSL).

Pirates administrative manager Floyd Mbele told The Star that he could not reveal who they are hoping to rope in.

“The last time I checked, Solinas had a contract with Free State Stars. It’s only now that I’m hearing from you that he has parted ways with them," Mbele said.

“It’s a work in progress (the search for a coach). I cannot tell you who we are hoping to rope in at the moment, but I can assure you we have more than one coach on our list. Unfortunately, I cannot give names.”

Mbele tried to discount Solinas by saying: "The thing is, Pirates is a big club. The person who comes here must be capable of handling the pressure that comes with the job and also fight to produce results going into the second round.”

The Bucs administrative boss went on to state that whoever replaces Palacios will be under pressure to win either the PSL title or Nedbank Cup.

“The season is not over yet. We still have a long way to go. This is an ambitious team. We go for whatever is on offer year in and year out. We never limit ourselves to just one trophy," he continued.

"Sure, we’ve already missed out on winning either or both of the MTN8 and the Telkom Knockout titles, but we can still push for something this season. We still have a fighting chance.”