AUGUSTO Palacios has not had much rest since taking over as caretaker coach at Orlando Pirates a little over a week ago.
The Peruvian, who was called in by club chairman Irvin Khoza to replace the suspended Julio Leal, said the baptism of fire in his first three games had also not made it easy to settle in as quickly as he would have liked.
Following the Buccaneers' goalless draw against log leaders Mamelodi Sundowns at Loftus Stadium on Tuesday night, Palacios argued that the best way for Pirates to keep their Absa Premiership title defence alive was to get enough "recuperation" in between crucial matches.
The truth is, the coach himself could use a rest.
He had only one training session with the team before travelling to Cape Town for his first game in charge against Santos and Pirates were beaten 3-0.
Palacios then had two sessions to prepare for the Soweto derby against rivals Kaizer Chiefs - a game the Buccaneers nearly killed off in the first half, leading 3-1 before Amakhosi gave them a tense finish when they scored one more goal in the dying minutes.
Victory against their old rivals restored some hope of defending the title as Pirates went second on the log just three days before the encounter against Sundowns, which produced sparks but no goals.
"This job was a surprise to me," said Palacios about his sudden call-up to coach Pirates.
"I only found out when the chairman gave me a call to take over."
Palacios also took over as interim coach at Pirates in 2003 when title-winning coach Roy Barreto was given the boot.
"It's been difficult coming back because I have not had much rest. The day after the derby I was at the High Performance Centre with the Pirates Under-17s because I'm still in charge of the development team and will not resign until the chairman says otherwise and I have a permanent job."
The difficulty Palacios faces is not the result of back-to-back potential title-deciding matches.
He's been under that kind of pressure before when he coached Chiefs, Pirates, Sundowns and even Bafana Bafana.
It was the timing of his appointment as caretaker coach that made the job challenging. He came into the job amid reports of turmoil and player unrest in the Pirates camp.
"Discipline was the first key, and the second was to correct some areas in our game, especially in defence. I had to speak to the players individually to see how they want to contribute to the club and I had one-one-one sessions with the senior players to ask for their support," said Palacios.
"I am passionate about this club and about football. It is my food - breakfast, lunch and dinner. The players need to understand what I want and that is important to me.
"Once I have more time, I can make a few more corrections."
How Njenje coped with hellish week
AUGUSTO Palacios has not had much rest since taking over as caretaker coach at Orlando Pirates a little over a week ago.
The Peruvian, who was called in by club chairman Irvin Khoza to replace the suspended Julio Leal, said the baptism of fire in his first three games had also not made it easy to settle in as quickly as he would have liked.
Following the Buccaneers' goalless draw against log leaders Mamelodi Sundowns at Loftus Stadium on Tuesday night, Palacios argued that the best way for Pirates to keep their Absa Premiership title defence alive was to get enough "recuperation" in between crucial matches.
The truth is, the coach himself could use a rest.
He had only one training session with the team before travelling to Cape Town for his first game in charge against Santos and Pirates were beaten 3-0.
Palacios then had two sessions to prepare for the Soweto derby against rivals Kaizer Chiefs - a game the Buccaneers nearly killed off in the first half, leading 3-1 before Amakhosi gave them a tense finish when they scored one more goal in the dying minutes.
Victory against their old rivals restored some hope of defending the title as Pirates went second on the log just three days before the encounter against Sundowns, which produced sparks but no goals.
"This job was a surprise to me," said Palacios about his sudden call-up to coach Pirates.
"I only found out when the chairman gave me a call to take over."
Palacios also took over as interim coach at Pirates in 2003 when title-winning coach Roy Barreto was given the boot.
"It's been difficult coming back because I have not had much rest. The day after the derby I was at the High Performance Centre with the Pirates Under-17s because I'm still in charge of the development team and will not resign until the chairman says otherwise and I have a permanent job."
The difficulty Palacios faces is not the result of back-to-back potential title-deciding matches.
He's been under that kind of pressure before when he coached Chiefs, Pirates, Sundowns and even Bafana Bafana.
It was the timing of his appointment as caretaker coach that made the job challenging. He came into the job amid reports of turmoil and player unrest in the Pirates camp.
"Discipline was the first key, and the second was to correct some areas in our game, especially in defence. I had to speak to the players individually to see how they want to contribute to the club and I had one-one-one sessions with the senior players to ask for their support," said Palacios.
"I am passionate about this club and about football. It is my food - breakfast, lunch and dinner. The players need to understand what I want and that is important to me.
"Once I have more time, I can make a few more corrections."
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