Orlando Pirates star Deon Hotto says they want to win the league and feels head coach Jose Riveiro is ‘more at home’ ahead of his third season at the club.
The 33-year-old has been a mainstay in the Pirates squad since his arrival from the now-defunct Bidvest Wits in 2020, and has won five domestic cup competitions.
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However, the league has eluded the club since the 2011/12 season, which the Namibian star feels they are ready to change as their project under Riveiro reaches a new level.
“To be honest, for us, it’s not a big problem to defend the MTN8 and the Nedbank Cup, for us the major ones are the league and the Champions League, that’s it… the other two we don’t have a big problem with the other two,” Hotto said.
“The talk for us [in pre-season] has been about [challenging for] the league and Champions League, so that’s what we want to go for because we know how to win those other domestic cups.”
Hotto has played a variety of positions since joining Pirates, from left-wing, right-wing, left-back and even as a false nine and his commitment has never come into question, with 21 goals and 30 assists in 166 games across all competitions.
He looks set to form a key part of the squad with his vast experience, and he suggested that it’s not just about winning for the coach, or Chairman Dr. Irvin Khoza or even fans, but for themselves as they seek league and continental glory for the club.
“Yeah most definitely [we’re strong enough to compete with Sundowns] it’s a project also for the coach, he’s now in his third season, trying to get the traditions of the team, formations also – you can see how he’s feeling comfortable, more at home also,” he explained.
“He knows what to do in this upcoming season and we as players are there to back him and the technical staff, the staff members, there are supporting him and us also. There’s pressure everywhere, it doesn’t matter where you are, or where you play.
“And it’s not to say we want to win the league for the coach, we want to win it for ourselves and the supporters, the Chairman also. Pressure is always going to be there and the pressure we take within this coming season is the pressure of trying to be from the first to the last game, and be on top of the table, it’s the pressure from ourselves, not supporters or the Chairman, but as players, we want to be on top from the first to last game.”
The Buccaneers open the new season with an MTN8 fixture against SuperSport United on Saturday, August 3.
