Orlando Pirates are “fairly satisfied” with the work of their third coach in 2019-20‚ Josef Zinnbauer‚ Bucs’ administrative officer Floyd Mbele has said.

Mbele said it remains far too early to tell yet if Zinnbauer will be successful at the Soweto giants‚ and even an assessment of his time at the club so far can only be made at the end of the 2019-20 season.

“Well we are fairly satisfied given the task that was at hand in terms of him stabilising the team‚” Mbele said.

“Obviously there are seven games to go‚ so I think this question is better responded to at the end of the season.

“It would be presumptuous [to asses at present]. I mean anything can happen in those seven games‚ which could put us back to something that we wanted to avoid.

“I think in all respects it might be something that we deal with at the end and not now.”

Pirates have had a tough season.

After two campaigns as runners-up under Milutin Sredojevic‚ a strong squad’s 2019-20 season was derailed by the bombshell departure of the Serb three games in.

Assistant Rulani Mokwena was left to pick up the pieces and battled for results as caretaker.

Former Hamburger SV and St Gallen coach Zinnbauer arrived in December and started unusually spectacularly for someone completely new to the Premier Soccer League (PSL).

Bucs won seven and drew two of Zinnbauer’s first nine league and cup games.

Their hot streak cooled mildly as they won once‚ drew once and lost twice in their four matches before football was suspended due to the coronavirus on March 16.

Pirates were in fourth place in the Absa Premiership on 40 points from 23 games‚ eight points behind leaders Kaizer Chiefs but their title chances unlikely having played a game more.