Monyane hopes Pirates can pile up the points

Orlando Pirates defender Thabiso Monyane (below) says their preparations for the resumption of the 2023/24 DStv Premiership has gone pretty well, and they are looking ahead to their opening game this year when they host Chippa United on 13 February at the Orlando Stadium.

The Pirates defender says their focus during the break was to improve as a team, and work on their mistakes from last year.

Pirates ended 2023 on a bad note, with the club losing their last two games against SuperSport United and Stellenbosch FC.

“I think the break was good because it allowed us to look at the things we did wrong in the first round of the campaign. We have been working really hard at training as a team, and the coaches just want to see us doing our best,” said the rightback.

“We have our opening game coming up against Chippa next week, and we have already started looking at it. But we are all ready for the match and we have been putting in the hard work at training to be in the starting line-up.”

Playing Chippa, Monyane says they know what to expect from the Chilli Boys. But, he is glad that they get to play their first game of the year on home soil.

“Chippa are a tricky side, they always give teams a tough time. So, we are expecting a difficult match. But, I think what is good for us is that we are playing the match here at home, so it will make things a bit simpler for us.

“I believe our fans will also come in their numbers because they haven’t seen us playing in a very long time,” he continued.

The Bucs defender added that getting maximum points will set the right tone for them as they look to pile up as many points as they can.

Pirates currently sit in fifth place on the log with 25 points after 16 games – 13 points behind log leaders Mamelodi Sundowns in the race for the championship title.

“We want to collect as many points as we can because there is still a long way to go before the season ends.”