Pirates defender Xoki admits they have not been at their best

Orlando Pirates defender Tapelo Xoki has admitted they have not been at their best but insists there is enough time in the DStv Premiership to turn their fortunes around.

The Buccaneers have lost their past three matches in the league to Kaizer Chiefs, Mamelodi Sundowns and Cape Town City to leave them in eighth spot with 19 points from 16 matches.

Pirates are a whopping 21 points behind runaway log leaders Sundowns, but Xoki says their turnaround starts with their league clash against Golden Arrows at Orlando Stadium on Saturday.

“You can’t look at it in isolation, but we know it has not been our best time,” he said as they prepared to host Abafana Bes'thende.

“We have not started the year well, but we want to rectify that on Saturday against Golden Arrows. We can’t cry over spilt milk, the most important thing is to soldier on, show character and stay positive.

“We have analysed the previous game against Cape Town City and know where we went wrong. We had the game under control for longer periods, they just had two chances and they scored.

“That was the difference on the day. Now we have to look forward to Saturday and make sure it doesn’t happen again. When we have control of the game we have to seal it. We know we have not done well in recent games so we have to focus on the next game and make sure we do the basics right.”

Asked if he could put a finger on the reasons for their inconsistency, Xoki said they have been affected by injuries.

“It has been a story of our season with regards to injuries, but we have a big squad and sometimes it plays a big part in trying to get the chemistry going. Unfortunately, you can’t control injuries, but we try to make sure whoever comes into the squad gets the support they need to make sure we help one another in getting results.

“We know we have not got to where we thought we would be at this time. There are a lot of factors, but we don’t want to make excuses for our performances. The only thing is to correct mistakes.

“We still have half the season to make sure we play our best football and get the best results and give ourselves a chance to see where we will finish at the end of the season.

“There is still a lot to play for in the league, there is the Caf spot, there is the league and there is the Nedbank Cup. Now we can’t think of that, we have to think of Arrows, because that is the most important game of our lives now.”