Orlando Pirates climb the league standings but need to improve consistency, says Abdeslam Ouaddou

Orlando Pirates are on an upward trajectory after racking up back-to-back victories in the Betway Premiership, but coach Adeslam Ouaddou says they still need to be consistent all round.

Pirates beat newcomers Orbit College 1-0 in the league at Orlando Stadium on Wednesday night to climb up to seventh place in the standings. That was their second successive league victory following a poor start, where back-to-back losses had piled pressure on Ouaddou early on.

But while Pirates are finally getting the much-needed results – having also qualified for the MTN8 final at the expense of rivals Mamelodi Sundowns – Ouaddou is not entirely satisfied. The Morocco-born coach believes his troops need to be more consistent in their performances.

In the last two weeks, Pirates have started slowly and often needed to chase the game, with three of their last four goals – across as many matches – coming in the second half.

“I think the target was clear from the beginning: we are improving, and step by step, the team is trying to find a good tempo and rhythm,” said Ouaddou after the win over Orbit. “I don’t want to speak about the first half, but you can see that we have two faces sometimes.

"The target is to have a consistent Pirates team – in both halves. So, that will become very important if we want to reach the top part of the log. We need more consistency in terms of dominating the opponent. We need to control the game better, be more offensive, and unsettle the opponent in their own half. If we want to reach the top, we can’t repeat such a poor first half.”

While Pirates’ performances have fluctuated, Ouaddou is pleased that his side can still grind out results even when they are not at their best.

“The approach, when you are coach of such a big club, is to attack, and you have to win every game – home and away,” Ouaddou explained. “There’s no moment when you can think about a draw.

"In your game plan, you always have to base your approach on an offensive model. You have to try to unbalance the opponent. So, when you compare your approach with the final product, it’s not always what you really planned for.”7

Sure, Pirates’ narrow wins have come as a result of their attacking prowess, but the defensive duo of Lebone Seema and Mbekezeli Mbokazi has also been solid, earning headlines. Apart from conceding in both semi-final legs against Sundowns, Pirates’ defence has kept back-to-back clean sheets in the league – three overall in seven matches.

As such, the return of Olisa Ndah and Nkosinathi Sibisi in the coming days is expected to further strengthen the backline, with the pair set to resume training with the squad. However, the big question is what will happen to the central defensive partnership of Mbokazi and Seema, who have been rock solid in recent weeks.

“It’s a very interesting question,” Ouaddou acknowledged. “We have such a big squad, and we are competing in many different competitions. So, like I always say, everyone is important and will have time to show his abilities in the team.

"Regarding competition – it’s like the question I had regarding (Deon) Hotto. We are playing him for half the game because we are managing him. In modern football, you need to manage both the time and the players. You cannot play the same individual every three days – it would be too difficult physically. It will be very important to have all these players back because then we’ll be able to rotate and have fresh legs for every match. That’s crucial.”