Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou hopes their team spirit will continue until the end of the season after the side’s impressive run recently across all competitions.
The Buccaneers’ successes continued when they beat TS Galaxy 2-0 at Orlando Stadium on Tuesday to move to third on the Premier Soccer League table with 15 points from seven matches.
Evidence Makgopa and substitute Tshegofatsho Mabasa scored either side of halftime to help the Buccaneers collect all three points. Ouaddou was pleased with the performance.
“You can win the match with eleven players, but if you want to win the league and competitions, you need the group. Every time I start the job in a club, I never speak about my game model at the beginning of the first session,” Ouaddou told the media during the postmatch press conference.
“My priority is regarding the values. So, I speak about the values, and it is very important because that is the foundation of every project. If you don’t have strong values in the project, it can be destroyed in the middle of the season.”
Ouaddou was also full of praise for his players and said the unity they had would see them being more successful.
“It was a very difficult game, as we expected it to be. But I’m happy with the team spirit, the unity and the solidarity of my players.
“We knew that the opponents would come to us with a lot of ambition to bother us at home,” he said.
“We played well, the players respected our plans, and I’m happy for the victory. It helped us grab some points and be close to the teams at the top. That’s what we wanted.
“We keep going and working, and I hope my team will keep this spirit until the end of the season.”
The Buccaneers also managed to keep five clean sheets in all those matches, and the coach insists his focus is not only on defence but also on other departments.
“I’m not only focusing on defence. Football, I see it with my own vision; you have to be efficient in the area of the two boxes.
“It is essential for me, even if we score three or four goals, to be cautious about how to defend.
“I played 17 years at the highest level, so I had all the time in the game. I had a lot of expectations when I was playing with my strikers.
“I’m just trying to use my experience as a player to bring it to my club here.”
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