Josef Zinnbauer has spoken about Orlando Pirates’ striker crisis after his side lost to Kaizer Chiefs in the Soweto derby on Sunday.
The German tactician was left frustrated by his side’s inefficiencies in the final third as they were held to a goalless draw after 90 minutes before losing the tie on penalties.
Pirates were without the injured duo Tshegofatso Mabasa and Zakhele Lepasa and Zinnbauer lamented his limited options while the duo has been sidelined but also explained why just signing another player is also not the solution.
“We have with Mabasa and Lepasa good strikers but they are not available at the moment,” he said after the game.
“It is always the problem when you have injured players and you make a new signing then the (injured) players come back.
“We have Gabba now, so we have to focus on getting him to perform.
“I hope over the next few days comes Mabasa back. But we cannot say that he’ll be ready for a game as he was out for a long time.
“It was not the first injury what he have, last season he was a long time out, now he was also a long time out. He needs (a bit more) time for a comeback.
“Yes, every coach wants a striker, a top striker. If you have a top striker, you can score. But it’s always a small line. Now you see today, (Boitumelo) Raidopane comes in and makes it not so bad as an 18-year-old player.
“It’s the sort of focus what we have. We have young players behind the big squad, (behind the) experienced players.
“But we have to wait now in the next week or the next 10 days what happens in terms of Mabasa.
“All coaches want strikers on the field. If you have a striker on the field you can score and most of the time you have more chances to score. In the moment we have Gabba, the youngsters behind and we have to see how they work.”
Zinnbauer was also asked whether Pirates little activity in the transfer market so far is because they are trying to get more out of their current squad but didn’t want to speak much about the club’s transfer plans.
“It’s a discussion we don’t speak about here. We cannot speak about a transfer here,” he explained.
“I can say, a coach always wants strikers. We saw what happened last season, we play with a false nine for a long time and the second striker was then Hotto, who is normally not a striker.
“So now we have to pray we get Mabasa quick back, Lepasa quick back and one of the young strikers in the squad.”
