Zinnbauer responds to calls for axe
ORLANDO PIRATES coach Josef Zinnbauer understands the volatile nature of football supporters as he responded to those calling for his head.
Pirates may have won a trophy earlier this season but that has not bought Zinnbauer more time as the team continues to struggle to challenge the likes of Mamelodi Sundowns in the league title race.
The Buccaneers are currently in fifth position, having managed only five wins in their 14 games thus far, and supporters have taken to social media to chastise the German.
This weekend’s Soweto Derby will presumably weigh heavily on whether those calls echo louder or whether he buys himself more time, but the 50-year-old tactician is not surprised by the abrupt change in supporter sentiments.
“Yeah, it’s always up to the guys. One guy would say, ‘Hey, good coach. We win a title, after the last six years we didn’t and had nothing in our hands,’” defended Zinnbauer.
“And another guys would say, ‘We want more, we want more!’ I understand the supporters, it’s always different — you have green, red and yellow lights, it’s always different.
“You know, the problem is always that fans want to see points, and a club like Orlando Pirates needs success, that’s always so, but you have to work on it.
“But the season is long and I understand the fans are upset after a draw or a loss — it’s normal, it’s an emotion-driven business. But you have different feelings and it’s always so.
“We’ll work more now, we have problems with strikers but we cannot change the world, we have to work with the other players in the squad, and they have to take their chances now.” — Kick Off.