Orlando Pirates coach, Jose Riveiro, says he is not thinking about the Nedbank Cup Final ahead of the DStv Premiership clash against Sekhukhune United.
The Buccaneers host Sekhukhune United in the league on Saturday and the two sides will meet again in the Nedbank Cup Final on Saturday, 27 May.
“The next objective for us is to consolidate our place on the log and make sure that we finish second,” Riveiro says.
“I’m not thinking at all about the Cup Final. We know that Cup finals are different to league fixtures – so we try to prepare for the game, especially mentally because at this time of the season every preparation should already been done in terms of structure and organisation.
“The players are in the last part of the season; everything is pretty clear for us – it’s more about physical and mental recovery. We go game by game and the 27 [of May] is so far.”
The Spanish mentor was voted as the coach of the month for April after winning four matches.
“We are the team of the month more than I am coach of the month,” adds Riveiro. “I take [the award] it’s fine, there will always be individual awards in football.
“It was a fantastic month and the performance of the team was brilliant. We managed to get fantastic results.”
With two league matches remaining before the end of the season, Riveiro believes Pirates have the Caf Champions League fate in their hands.
“We don’t have to watch anybody else, we are focusing on our plans – we don’t only want to win the next game but the one after that as well. We have a small advantage and it’s giving us the possibility to not feel any external pressure or distraction about what other sides is doing.”
By Zola Doda