Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou admits his squad may be shocked by their Nedbank Cup exit to Casric Stars but there’s light at the end of the tunnel after a ‘tough week’.
Having lost to Mamelodi Sundowns 2-1 in the top of the table clash on Wednesday, the last-16 exit in the domestic cup at the hands of the second-tier side compounds further misery on the Buccaneers.
This is a side who already secured the MTN8, Carling Knockout Cup and are at the summit of the table, as things stand – but it’s another blemish to Ouaddou’s squad – who suffered a preliminary round CAF Champions League exit too.
“When you are playing for the title and of course, we lost in the previous game, it’s very important mentally to wash the brain and give the confidence and trust to the players, it’s what we did after [losing] to Sundowns,” Ouaddou said.
“And then there’s this game, which will shock the players a bit – what I will tell them is we still have 13 finals upcoming and nothing is lost about the league title, and we will find some resources like that, I won’t hide, it’s been a tough week.
“We lost two games, it’s the second time it happens to us if I count the first part of the season – so now we need to find resources like we did at the beginning of the season when we bounced back and we won 11 games in a row, it’s what we need to do now.”
Pirates now turn their attention to the Soweto Derby where they face Kaizer Chiefs on Saturday afternoon at FNB Stadium.
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