Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has explained the club’s policy of having a squad dominated by South African players and touched on ending the 14-year long wait for a league crown.
Pirates haven’t won the league title since the 2011/12 season, but this season they’ve gone closer than before, breaking their record for most points in a season by reaching 62 points. Goalkeeper Sipho Chaine has also reached 18 clean sheets.
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After Mamelodi Sundowns dropped two points against Kaizer Chiefs on Wednesday evening, Pirates are three points behind with a game in hand.
Should Buccaneers win that game, they will go top of the league table due to their superior goal difference.
Ouaddou stated that it would be useless to break their record of points if they don’t win the league title.
“If I have to be honest, we have to check, but I think I have the third-youngest team in the PSL. The majority of the players are South African because it’s the policy of the club. They try to promote South African talent. I’m happy with that. I’m happy with the policy,” Ouaddou told the media.
“For me, with the boys and the club, we are very ambitious. We are giving everything to make the fans happy after 14 or 15 years. It’s not easy when you have a team that’s been at the height of the mountains, and they’re looking down on everybody from the top during those 15 years.
“And I think it’s the first time that we’re trying to challenge the team. But you’re asking me if I sleep? I sleep maybe four or five hours every day because with my staff, we need to find solutions. We need to bring this competitiveness to design the best session, the best game plan, and the best prioritization during the week, in order to try to bring happiness to the fans.
“I think we could have done it already if I come back a little earlier to see how many points we dropped. I think we would’ve already been champions with a few games to go, but it’s football.
“We have to continue to fight to improve the players, to try to be more creative, to be more consistent as well. Because breaking the records is fine, you know, it’s for show. If you break the record and you didn’t win the title, it’s useless.”
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