New Pirates coach knows expectation on his shoulders

Abdeslam Ouaddou says he feels a positive pressure as the new coach of Orlando Pirates and is aware of the burden of expectation that now sits on his shoulders.

Ouaddou got off to a winning start as the new Bucs boss as they beat Polokwane City 2-0 in Saturday’s MTN8 quarterfinal at Orlando Stadium.

“I must say, when you put your feet into such a big club, not only in South Africa, but on the continent, of course, the board doesn't bring you here just to chill,” he said after first-half goals from one of the match, Oswin Appollis, and Patrick Maswanganyi secured progress to the last four later this month.

“I know the expectation of the fans, I know the expectation of the board and of course, I will do my best to try to reach these targets.

“The players did a very good job over the last three years. So let's keep going, let's keep going. We have a big challenge this season,” Ouaddou added.

Pirates got off to a comfortable start but found it harder to dominate in the second half but pleased a capacity 32 500-strong crowd.

Ouaddou started with three of Pirates’ 11 new signings and brought on four more of the recent additions to the squad.

“It was the first game for many players, but for me as well, in our stadium, in front of the fans, so it was important for us to start with the win,” the coach added.

“I think the boys did well. We wanted to start with the high intensity and that is what is the target for this season … to have a team that's starting with a very high intensity in the games.

“We wanted to score early. I found that my team was strong in some areas, and we wanted to have a clean sheet as well. So I think most of the targets were reached. I'm a bit disappointed because in the second half we could have maybe scored the third goal but let's say that we are happy with a lot of positive things. We have to improve some others. It's not finished,” the former Morocco international, who has taken over from José Riveiro, warned.