Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro admits they have an obligation to be active in the market to strengthen the squad for the 2023/24 season.
Riveiro secured the MTN8 and Nedbank Cup in his debut season and qualified Pirates for the CAF Champions League again by finishing runners-up behind Mamelodi Sundowns.
And despite making massive strides with the current playing squad, he acknowledges there are areas for improvement – with the Buccaneers finishing 16 points behind the league champions.
“Probably, [we’ll be busy], there will be movements in every team, it’s normal, players finishing contracts, players looking to secure their futures, as we do as coaches, it’s always the same [every season],” Riveiro said after winning the Nedbank Cup.
“It’s a market, players are coming and going every season, I hope not many, it’s important to give continuity to the things we built already.
“But again probably it’s our obligation, it’s mandatory for us to always have one eye on the market to look at opportunities to improve the squad, the coaching staff, everything because we need to do it, we want to compete and we have to move forward.
“We can’t think now everything is alright, Riveiro this and the players [are] that, no, we have to be critical [on ourselves], because there are reasons to do that and look for opportunities to make us better as a team.”
Pirates roped in 13 new players in the past season and look likely to continue the trend with several players out of contract in the coming month.
