Rejuvenated Orlando Pirates centre-back Sandile Mthethwa is vouching for his coach Jose Riveiro to win the Coach of the Season accolade, vowing they'll win the Nedbank Cup in order to enhance his chances to scoop the gong.

Pirates face Sekhukhune United in the final at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Saturday (6pm). Riveiro, who is in his first season at Pirates, is pitted against the champions Mamelodi Sundowns' Rulani Mokwena and Gavin Hunt of SuperSport United in the Coach of the Season category. The Spaniard has already bagged the MTN8 and guided the Sea Robbers to finish as the runners-up in the league.

"Definitely he's the Coach of the Season. We want to win the Nedbank Cup for him and he's gonna be Coach of the Season,'' the soft-spoken Mthethwa told the journalists at Pirates' media open day at their training base, Rand Stadium, yesterday.

Mthethwa couldn't stop raving about Riveiro, saying he's improved the team. "Coach Riveiro has done a good job on all the players. He always wants 100%... he's that coach who'll only give you a chance when you work hard. He always wants the best in you,'' Mthethwa noted.

With Nkosinathi Sibisi and Tapelo Xoki ahead of him in the pecking order, Mthethwa has started only six of the 12 matches he's been involved in for the Buccaneers this season. Even so, the towering centre-back has played a telling role, especially in the Nedbank Cup, delivering match-winning moments. He netted the winning goal that saw them beat their traditional rivals Kaizer Chiefs 2-1 in extra time in the competition's semifinals early this month.

The former Chippa United man, who's Pirates' development graduate, also slotted home the winning penalty against minnows Dondol Stars in the quarterfinals of the same tournament.

"The coach believes in me. He always tells me to wait for my chance,'' Mthethwa said.