THE BACKPAGE phakaaathi.co.za Kjell still assessing
PIRATES COACH: TO BE HONEST I HAVEN’T SEEN ALL THE PLAYERS HERE YET
Jonevret knows they have mountain to climb in SuperSport.
Orlando Pirates coach Kjell Jonevret admits he has not had enough time to assess each player in his squad ahead of tonight’s clash with Stuart Baxter’s title-chasing SuperSport United.
Jonevret has only been in charge of the side for two games, and both have finished in 1-1 draws, at home to Polokwane City, and in Saturday’s Soweto derby against Kaizer Chiefs – Bucs have now gone 11 matches without a win in all competitions.
“To be honest I haven’t seen all the players here yet. In the first match I spoke with the staff and we decided to start with (Luvuyo) Memela (against Polokwane City),” he said. Memela, notably, did not feature in Saturday’s derby.
The last meeting between Pirates and SuperSport saw Matsatsantsa rout Pirates 6-1 on November 1.
Pirates may have not won in their two games under the Swede, but there was an improvement in performance against Chiefs. The Buccaneers will have to continue to improve if they are to take three points off a SuperSport side that are unbeaten in 18 league matches.
United are two points adrift of Eric Tinkler’s Cape Town City, and can go top tonight if they beat Pirates and Bidvest Wits fail to win at Chippa United.
Jonevret is well aware of the importance of tonight’s clash.
“We have another tough game coming up against SuperSport United ... we will have to be ready for anything,” said Jonevret.
Dove Wome, Thamsanqa Gabuza and Thembinkosi Lorch could once more lead the Sea Robbers’ attack following the latter’s spirited performance against their arch-rivals in the Soweto derby. That would mean Zimbabwean marksman Tendai Ndoro is again relegated to the bench.
The new coach is a fan of attacking football with all three of his substitutions in the Soweto derby signalling his intent to rob Chiefs of all three points over the weekend.
“Lorch has been good in training and I want to put in one or two new guys in the team to see them in a game. Wome is a great guy, he scores goals and he had two or three chances (in the Soweto derby) so I am happy with that one,” added the Pirates coach.