Palacios plotting Pirates’ revenge

WHEN a rescue plan comes together, it’s often tempting to turn it into a permanent solution. Augusto Palacios stepped in as Orlando Pirates coach this month after the sudden resignation of Muhsin Ertugral after the Buccaneers had been humiliated 6-1 by SuperSport United in a Premiership clash in Nelspruit.

The two sides return to the Mbombela Stadium tonight to play for a place in the Telkom Knockout final on December 10, and there Palacios could prove he is capable of being more than just an interim coach this season.

Since taking over, the Peruvian has guided Pirates to a three-game winning streak, shaking things up in the dressing room and leaving fans wondering whether club chairman Irvin Khoza still plans to appoint a new coach next year.

“At the moment I’m thinking about the next game, not January or February,” said Palacios. “I’ve been at this club for nearly 21 years now and the chairman knows my passion for development. That’s my home. But if he wants me to stay on, then I will stay on. And if he wants me to go back to my development, then I will also go. The chairman decides. I don’t have the right to say I should stay on because I have won three games in a row.”

Palacios, also a former Bafana Bafana coach, has been in this situation at Pirates before. He is the club’s “Fireman Sam”, ready for any eventuality. His most recent stint as a stop-gap for Pirates was in 2012, concluding that season as a league champion after Brazil’s Julio Leal had quit despite helping the club to win the MTN8 and Telkom Knockout trophies a few months earlier.

“I came in with 12 games to go,” Palacios recalled. “It was great to finish it by winning the league, but things are different now and there are more games still to be played.”

Reaching a cup final so soon after taking the reins will cement his contribution to Pirates. To do it against a SuperSport side that inflicted the worst defeat for Pirates since 1990 will also linger long in memory. Kick-off is at 6pm.