Despite thrashing Golden Arrows 7-1 this past weekend, Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro insisted that the Buccaneers are not world beaters.
The DStv Premiership giants were on an unstoppable force at the Orlando Stadium this past weekend as Tshegofatso Mabasa led the slaughter, netting only the second hat-trick in the league this season.
Mabasa has now taken his tally to 10 goals, sitting level with Mamelodi Sundowns’ Lucas Costa in the race for the golden boot.
Riveiro, meanwhile, was pleased to see his side win by a six-goal margin for the second time this season, having overpowered minnows Crystal Lake in the Nedbank Cup round of 32.
However, the Spanish mentor immediately cautioned his side to not interpret the massive result irresponsibly.
“The score was heavy, but it is also due to Arrows being brave and trying to play football.
“There is no magic in the message to the players before the game, they are confident because they know that they are playing well and this is well-deserved,” said Riveiro.
“This result is something that we can capitalize in a positive way for the future in terms of trusting in ourselves and what we are capable of doing – I’m not talking about scoring seven goals but more about the type of football.
“It is also dangerous to think that from now it is going to be a piece of cake and teams are going to fear us. We need to be mature and make it count for the future.
“We need to manage to result properly, which is understanding that we are suddenly not the best team in the world, we are the same team that we were three days ago.
“Now we are more accurate and trust in our football to continue getting results and keeping everyone happy,” the Bucs mentor added.
Pirates buried in a dozen goals in their last five league games but the results have not been corresponding with their scoring prowess as they only managed to collect eight points from a possible 15.
“I don’t think that the players deserved to be highly criticized in the last five performances. Results are results and we don’t sulk over results because then we will not progress,” Riveiro explained.
He continued: “We always try to know where we are in this process that we are having in this group at this point of the season, we are adjusting our objectives, thinking also about the near future and we know where we are going.
“But when it is time to be criticized because of our performances, we will accept it because we are in a high competitive environment, and when the result is not the one we are looking for, the critics will come.”
☠️ 📰 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗖𝗛 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪 📰
— Orlando Pirates (@orlandopirates) April 6, 2024
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