‘He is just a boy who wants to play football’: Pirates boss Riveiro on Saleng

Orlando Pirates coach José Riveiro is happy to see Monnapule Saleng in the spotlight for impressive on-field performances but wants the attacker to stay grounded.

The skilful Saleng has almost single-handedly dragged the Buccaneers to the MTN8 final against AmaZulu with domineering performances in the 3-0 aggregate two-leg semifinal win over Mamelodi Sundowns.

Saleng, who was not in the reckoning at the beginning of the season, has grabbed recent opportunities and underlined his importance by scoring a brace in the thumping 3-0 win over Sundowns in the MTN8 second leg on Saturday.

The 24-year-old will be a key player for Pirates when they take on Kaizer Chiefs in their DStv Premiership Soweto derby at FNB Stadium on Saturday.

“I don’t think it’s the case,” was Riveiro’s concise response, when asked if adulation from media and fans alike has affected Saleng.

“He is just a boy who wants to play football. He is having real fun at training and also during games. That is why he is performing the way he is at the moment — he is playing and enjoying football, that’s it.”

Riveiro added that though Saleng hasn’t changed his behaviour because of praise from fans, there must be a system to protect him and the players who are not getting much game time.

“What you say is sometimes right [about praise affecting players]. We need to protect the players in a way that they don’t get confused or relax.

“We try to keep an eye on all our players, more importantly players who are not playing or not shining or not getting feedback from the media or fans.

“We will try to keep an eye on all of them because we need them sooner than later. We are talking about one boy who didn’t participate in the first seven to eight games — we need to pay attention to the ones who are not in the spotlight at the moment.

“Saleng, like each and every player, is getting the benefit of the environment he has around him. It is easy to play when you are surrounded by good players like he is. When one player shines on the field it is because there is support in many different environments.

“It is nice to see players shining and in the spotlight for scoring goals, or if they do some nice tricks but there are things that are much more important that happen before and after.

“You must have balance and have the capacity to protect the result and to consolidate the lead. I would like to have more players in the spotlight in the future because that means someone else is scoring goals.”

Pirates are in fourth place and Chiefs in fifth going into the derby.