Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro is not trying to prove a point to anyone who doubted his move to the club at the beginning of the season.
Riveiro was labelled a plumber, a term describing foreign coaches in SA, after coming into the country without success in his previous teams.
But that changed as the Spanish coach won his first title barely four months into the job after guiding the Buccaneers to the MTN8 trophy when they beat AmaZulu 1-0 at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday.
Monnapule Saleng scored the only goal from the set piece to ensure that Pirates won their record fourth title and will keep it forever.
“I’m not here to respond to anyone. I’m here to do my job. I’m a professional football coach and I’m prepared to do it. That's why I’m part of this beautiful club,” Riveiro responded when asked if the win has silenced his critics.
“I want to take this chance to thank my bosses for allowing me to represent a brand like Pirates. We are doing a good job all together. I’m just a coach.
“There are a lot more people around who are helping to make this work. I understand that sometimes we as coaches are in the spotlight for different reasons, especially when we lose.
“There is nothing I can do about that situation. I can't control it. I don’t spend time thinking about revenge. We did what we were supposed to do for all the people around the team. We did it together
“What’s going to happen in the future here, Pirates will always be special for me,” he said.
Riveiro ignores critics, happy to win a cup
'I’m not here to respond to anyone, I’m here to do my job'
Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro is not trying to prove a point to anyone who doubted his move to the club at the beginning of the season.
Riveiro was labelled a plumber, a term describing foreign coaches in SA, after coming into the country without success in his previous teams.
But that changed as the Spanish coach won his first title barely four months into the job after guiding the Buccaneers to the MTN8 trophy when they beat AmaZulu 1-0 at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday.
Monnapule Saleng scored the only goal from the set piece to ensure that Pirates won their record fourth title and will keep it forever.
“I’m not here to respond to anyone. I’m here to do my job. I’m a professional football coach and I’m prepared to do it. That's why I’m part of this beautiful club,” Riveiro responded when asked if the win has silenced his critics.
“I want to take this chance to thank my bosses for allowing me to represent a brand like Pirates. We are doing a good job all together. I’m just a coach.
“There are a lot more people around who are helping to make this work. I understand that sometimes we as coaches are in the spotlight for different reasons, especially when we lose.
“There is nothing I can do about that situation. I can't control it. I don’t spend time thinking about revenge. We did what we were supposed to do for all the people around the team. We did it together
“What’s going to happen in the future here, Pirates will always be special for me,” he said.
“I know how important this trophy is going to be for our management and I’m very proud to be part of this small piece of history at the club."
Riveiro was full of praise for his side for their commitment even when they lost Nkosinathi Sibisi with a match just a minute old following a bad tackle against Gabadinho Mhango.
“It was tough when we had to change Sibisi after the first minute of the game and that was the key for me that the team reacted after that.
"We didn’t lose focus at all. We didn’t even need to change anything because the guys were all prepared to execute what we tried to do. That's the strength of the team.
“They are united and we don’t hesitate when we don’t get a good result like a week ago and we have shown now that we are mentally strong and we are improving.”