NEWS: ‘It won’t be a good season’ – Jose Riveiro admits Orlando Pirates cannot afford to miss out on CAF Champions League

Heading into the final matchday of the 2023/24 DStv Premiership season, Orlando Pirates face the possibility of missing out on next season’s Champions League.

This after the Buccaneers suffered a second successive defeat when they went down in a 1-0 loss to TS Galaxy at Mbombela Stadium on Saturday.

A week before, Riveiro’s men were stunned by Richards Bay with a 1-0 defeat at Orlando Stadium.

The losses have left the Sea Robbers in a precarious position about qualifying for the continental showpiece.

Riveiro refused to blame the recent poor outcomes on fatigue and said they needed to do better as a team.

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“You can’t blame fatigue when playing these kinds of games. We are playing for the big objective, to get Orlando Pirates into the CAF Champions League for next season,” Riveiro told media after the game in Mbombela.

“Fatigue, that’s no excuse.

“We all need to run the extra mile, players and coaches need to make sure that Pirates finish the season at least in second place because we obviously can’t finish in first place.

“But anything less than that (finishing second), it won’t be a good season for us,” Riveiro said.

The third-placed Pirates, who host SuperSport United on Saturday, will need to win their game and hope that the third-place Stellenbosch FC drop points against Richards Bay FC.

Stellies, who have also lost their last two outings to Moroka Swallows and champions Mamelodi Sundowns, are on 50 points while Pirates are on 49.

In his maiden season in South Africa, Riveiro guided the Sea Robbers to the Champions League qualification but their journey in the showpiece disappointingly ended in the preliminary stages.

The Spanish-born mentor also won two cup competitions, MTN8 and Nedbank Cup, in his first season.

Riveiro has already defended the MTN8 and will contest the Nedbank Cup final against Masandawana at Mbombela Stadium on June 1.

“The next big game is against SuperSport on Saturday, we need to win that game and hope that Stellenbosch doesn’t have a good day. If they have a good day then they will be in the Champions League for next season,” Riveiro added.