Coach wants to ‘feed’ Bucs

The 2018/2019 season is all about feeding the soul of the Orlando Pirates supporters following a decent campaign last season, Bucs coach Micho Sredojevic said ahead of their MTN8 clash with SuperSport United at the Orlando Stadium tonight.

When Sredojevic was announced as Bucs coach prior to the start of last season, he made his intentions clear, saying he wanted to bring stability and competitiveness into the team after three barren seasons.

And now that he has managed to mould the team into a formidable side – finishing the season in second place and earning a spot in the Caf Champions league – the Bucs mentor believes lifting the Wafa Wafa trophy would be great for them, but admits it won’t be an easy job.

“If you can remember, last year we branded our season as a soul-healing season, and now the soul has been healed. But the soul can’t go on without food. Yes, it will be very difficult, but for us with the critical awareness of the opponents and them knowing us, it will be very difficult because we know each other very well,” said the Serb.

“We are playing against a very good team, there are no easy clashes in the four fixtures (of the MTN8), and you can see all four clashes will be very competitive. On the other hand, you have the fact that we have just started with the new season.”

Meanwhile, Matsatsantsa have a new coach in Kaitano Tembo, who was an assistant to Eric Tinkler when the side won the MTN8 last year. Having taken over the reins as the head coach this season, Tembo says they are determined to retain the trophy.

“We are the defending champions and for us there are no options, we have to try and defend our cup,” said Tembo.

“The most important thing for us is to make sure that we take the tournament seriously while also not forgetting how we want to prioritise our schedule.”