You win some, you lose some - Bucs skipper
Pirates captain Lucky Lekgwathi has pleaded with his team’s fans for more time before they can expect results of the same calibre of last season.
Treble winners in the last campaign, the Buccaneers are languishing in eighth position in the Premiership, and they will be under pressure to keep their silverware hopes alive in their Telkom Knockout semi-final against Golden Arrows in Durban on Saturday.
“I would like to say to the supporters, you win some and you lose some,” Lekgwathi said on Wednesday.
He then backtracked and said Bucs promised better performances.
“They must just give the coach and us players time to adjust and we will make sure we win our games and make them happy.”
In their league campaign this season, Pirates have won only four of 11 games, and new coach Julio Leal could face the axe soon.
Lekgwathi hoped he could assist Leal with the younger players.
“As a leader, you have to lead by example just to motivate the guys so they lift up their socks,” the skipper said.
“Last time they didn’t perform very well [in a 3-1 loss to Wits].
“They were not running with the ball, they were nurturing the ball — not an organised team.
“Me and Benni [McCarthy] will add value to the team and help them with our experience.
“Last season we won the treble, but that is history and we are looking forward to new things.”
Lekgwathi sais the influx of new players into the squad was one of the reasons for the side’s below-par performances.
“They are adding value to the team — they just need time to adjust to the team, and most of them are still young,” Lekgwathi said.
“In our last [cup] game against Swallows I was happy to see one of our experienced players and of the new guys combining and scoring two goals.”
The captain, while slow to criticise, was quick to compliment the effort of the young players in the squad.
“We are working very hard to regroup ourselves and to redeem our pride,” he said.
“We now need to go to Durban and fight hard, do well and win the game.”