Orlando Pirates coach Josef Zinnbauer may have returned home in Germany, but club legend Edward Motale doesn’t see them struggling without him.

Zinnbauer, who guided Pirates to a 3-0 win over rivals Kaizer Chiefs in the MTN8 semifinal first leg at Orlando Stadium, had to return home to attend to a family emergency after the match. 

It is unclear when he will come back, with Pirates scheduled to take on Bloemfontein Celtic tomorrow and Chiefs in the MTN8 semifinal second leg on Sunday.

With the coronavirus cases rising in Germany, the European country has since implemented another lockdown, starting yesterday, with  a ban including tourist trips.

Motale, however, feels assistant coach Fadlu Davids is capable of continuing where the coach left off as he attends to the health condition of his hospitalised son back home.

“I think they got two assistants [Davids and Franck Plaine, the fitness trainer]. That’s where they need to come out and motivate the guys now,” Motale told Sowetan yesterday.

“I don’t think it is a train smash if the coach won’t be available now. We have energy on the bench. I don’t see it as a problem.

“I’m not panicking because it is not like the whole technical team left. We still have people who are working with him, and they must do their job. It is time to show us why they are there. The coach is gone for a while, so they must show us [that they are capable].”

Motale also suggested that if the coach did not return to the club anymore, Davids had to be promoted as  head coach for continuity.

“I’m not sure about the arrangement because this was an urgent thing. Maybe the club has arranged something for him, to come back. It is work-related, and there is an emergency in between,” Motale said.

“If maybe he is not coming back until the lockdown is finished or whatever. We don’t have to fold arms and say the coach is gone, no, the people who are available now must take charge of the team and make sure they continue where the coach left off until he is back.”

Nevertheless, Motale is impressed with what the coach has done since taking over from last season after he guided the club to a third-place finish.

“I’ve got confidence in him. He never had even pre-season training last year. He did well in the space of four months and took us to third position from nowhere.”

Pirates administrator Floyd Mbele said the whole technical team would work with Davids to help him succeed in the absence of Zinnbauer.