Transformed Bucs will be league champs – Lekgwathi

MILUTIN “Micho” Sredojevich has successfully transformed the Buccaneers into a force to be reckoned with and they have a good chance of lifting the PSL championship at the end of the season, former Orlando Pirates captain Lucky Lekgwathi said.

Second-placed Pirates trail log leaders Mamelodi Sundowns by four points with five matches remaining and Lekgwathi believes Pirates’ change of mindset under Sredojevich has given the Bucs an advantage as they approach the business end of the title chase on the back of five successive wins.

“They are playing extremely well at the moment and credit must go to the management for assembling a good squad and getting Micho back to the club,” he said.

“Most people said Micho failed the last time he was at Pirates, but I don’t think so.

“The combination of Micho and Rhulani [Mokwena] has turned Pirates into that team of Kosta Papic. They have this energy. I don’t know where they get it from.

“If they focus on their games and not worry too much about what Mamelodi Sundowns are doing‚ then they will definitely win the league.”

Pirates’ mission to try to win the league for the first time since the 2011-2012 season continues with a tricky clash against SuperSport United at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit tonight where they could close the gap on Sundowns to one point.

“Having a coach like Micho has made a huge difference‚” Lekgwathi said.

“I know him well because he coached me the last time he was at the club.

“He always wants to get the best out of every player.

“He treats all his players the same and if you are in form you will play.

“[In the past] there were players who told themselves that they owned places in the team and were in a comfort zone.

“Now‚ no one is guaranteed a place in the starting lineup.

“He must be credited because he has managed to change the mindset of the players‚ which was somehow missing before he arrived.

“He always selects the team from training. I know that there were good players who were playing all the time before he arrived who are not starting matches at the moment.

“It happened in the past with me – players like Tonic Chabalala and Edward Malinga arrived and played because they were working very hard.”

For Pirates to achieve their mission of winning the league‚ Lekgwathi‚ who is the last Bucs captain to lift the PSL trophy‚ said senior players must raise their hands because the team is largely inexperienced.

“The senior players must come to the party and guide the youngsters‚ tell them about the experience of winning the league title,” he said.

“Most of the players in our team are still inexperienced and the pressure of trying to catch up with Sundowns may get to them.”