Former Orlando Pirates midfielder Benedict ‘Tso’ Vilakazi believes the club needs to beef up at the back because they seem to not have stability in defence at the moment.
Vilakazi says he is not sure, if Pirates is playing with three or four defenders at the back, suggesting the Stellenbosch duo of Qobolwakhe Sibande and Ismael Toure as possible solutions.
Sibande has played 12 matches in all competitions this season, while the Ivorian has 16 matches under his belt so far with one goal in the Carling Knockout Cup final.
Vilakazi says the left-back position is suspect at Bucs, adding that Sibande can also easily bench Deon Hotto, while Toure would be a good option in central defence.
“I can see at left-back it’s like we don’t know what we are doing at Pirates,” Vilakazi said on iDiskiTV.
“We want to play with three, we want to play with four, we don’t know what we are doing. There is this young boy at Stellenbosch he’s doing very well. He was a sub for that boy who was playing for Swallows last season, [Fawaz] Basadien. Basadien is also very decent player”
“Sibande is a very, very good player. I’ll take him because you can see Basadien’s influence in this boy to say, if you get an opportunity use it, if you are not going to do that I’ll come in again.
“So for me it says the boy knows I’ve got a chance and I’m going to grab it with both hands. For me he played like a seasoned player. He didn’t look like he was doubting his decision making or unsure about a run or a pass.
“I do understand that as coaches we are always going to be different in terms of how we coach but me I’d have that boy over Hotto. That boy is good in marking good in overlapping, good in delivering and for me that’s a key part.
“Hotto can mark, he can run, he can go up but when it comes to that final pass you ask yourself ‘why Hotto, why didn’t you pass it, why didn’t you play it there’. So I’d go with that boy.
“[Toure] a very, very solid defender. You can see when he’s playing the communication at the back, how they cover each other and his work rate.
“The other thing that I like is that when he misses a ball he doesn’t say ‘no, I’m done’, he waits for the right moment and the he plays a nice pass. He also gives cover where you need cover.
“That’s why you see when they sub [Darrel] Macheke with [Jayden] Adams in that central midfield Adams doesn’t panic.”
You can listen to Vilakazi’s preferred transfer targets for Orlando Pirates on iDiskiTV official YouTube channel.
