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Riveiro puts his faith in his Bucs assistant coaches

'I have a fantastic, super staff behind me'

Sihle Ndebele Journalist
Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro is serving the last match of his suspension.
Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro is serving the last match of his suspension.
Image: Lefty Shivambu

Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro has detailed why his absence from the dugout, when they entertain Soweto rivals Kaizer Chiefs at FNB Stadium tomorrow at 3.30pm, isn't a big deal.

Riveiro will not be on the bench due to the red card he received against second-tier All Stars in the Nedbank Cup first round at Milpark Stadium the other weekend. The Spaniard was banned for two-games. The Bucs tactician started serving his suspension against Maritzburg United last Friday, meaning the derby is the last game he'll miss.

"Unfortunately, I will not be on the bench where I'm supposed to be, but it's not a big problem for the players that I'll not be on the bench because I have a fantastic, super staff behind me,'' Riveiro told the media at a conference organised by the league and title sponsor DStv at Wanderers Country Club in Illovo yesterday. 

"The players are used to working with all our coaches at the same level as they work with me. Sometimes our influence from the bench as coaches is not important but the players are the most important people in football games."

Assistant coaches Mandla Ncikazi and Sergio Almenara will assume Riveiro's role in his absence.

Riveiro is pleased that they're heading into the derby on the back of garnering a few wins, highlighting that it had boosted their morale. Even so, the Pirates coach suggested they must be cautious about relying on current form as Chiefs beat them when they had a better form last time in October last year.

"It's a special moment... a different type of game. It's true that we're happy to go into this game in a good space after winning our past few games. We are confident but when we played against Chiefs last year it was pretty much the same situation [in terms of being in better form],'' Riveiro stated.

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