Talk about Pirates’ PSL chances irks Sredojevic

MILUTIN Sredojevic let out a sigh of exasperation as the inevitable post-match question about Orlando Pirates’ title chances came after their 2-1 away win over Lamontville Golden Arrows in KwaMashu near Durban on Saturday night.

But the doggedness of the Bucs coach in sticking to the mantra of “one game at a time” means the coach will be asked the question again and again.

The Serbian has transformed the limplooking Pirates of last season into a side with genuine Premier League title aspirations‚ as they moved to within one point of leaders Mamelodi Sundowns, albeit having played one match more.

The narrow win of the Buccaneers on Saturday continued a run of solid form – with five wins and a draw from their last six PSL matches‚ making them a real threat to Sundowns’ role as favourites to be crowned champions in May.

But “Micho” has stuck to his party line in the last months without deviating‚ no matter how many times he has been asked to confirm that his side have a chance to win the Absa Premiership.

“We still do not think about that‚” he said. “Our focus is on the next match against Bloemfontein Celtic – and it is the only thing we will be thinking about.

“When that match is done, we shall think about SuperSport [United]‚ AmaZulu‚ Wits, Cape Town City and Free State [Stars]‚” he said‚ listing the remaining Chiefs’ games in the run-in to the title. “We shall go match by match‚ slowly. “Let all the pressure be on us, as a technical team – and all the relaxation and improvements, football wise, be on the side of the players. We don’t want them to feel any pressure.

“We want to improve our football and let the football be the way of collecting the points.

“How far we will go [in the title race]‚ we’ll see at the end.”

Pirates next play on April 3‚ having a two-week break now after being knocked out of the Nedbank Cup. Meanwhile, Steve Komphela could not publicly throw in the towel in the title race after a 0-0 home draw against AmaZulu on Saturday night‚ but the Kaizer Chiefs coach’s response was played down so much that he essentially did.

Without saying it in so many words‚ Komphela hinted that the Nedbank Cup was now Chiefs’ most likely source of silverware in this 2017-18 season, after being held at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg by Usuthu.

“We’ve just made it even more difficult for ourselves‚” Komphela admitted of the league title race.

Chiefs are fifth on the log – and seven points behind leaders Mamelodi Sundowns‚ but having played a game more.

“We thought by tonight [Saturday] it would be [narrowed to] five points and then it can put pressure on the opponents.

“But again‚ you never know what will happen in football.

“We’ll keep pushing‚ be as professional as possible.

“For every second given to us, we will try and do our best and get results.

“And from there we will see what happens for the rest of the teams.”

Kaizer Chiefs now have the Nedbank Cup – where they meet Baroka FC in the quarterfinals at the FNB Stadium on March 31 – as their realistic chance to rectify what would be Komphela’s third season without a trophy. – TimesLIVE