Altering Pirates’ outlook
BELIEF: PLAYERS NEED TO RE-ENERGISE
Orlando Pirates assistant coach Fadlu Davids says they have been busy working on a winning mentality to complement their performances during this Fifa break, ahead of their Absa Premiership clash with Polokwane City at Orlando Stadium tonight.
The Buccaneers assistant is adamant that Bucs have been playing good football since the beginning of the season – but they have just been unfortunate not to get the results they want. “Some players are coming back from injury and they have not played many minutes, while some players have played most of the games and they need a break. They need to refresh, they need to re-energise, not only from a physical side, but from the thinking side - to reset their brains and say: ‘Hey let’s take the next three days and try to get maximum points,” said Davids.
“The individual approach is something that we are working on to get the best out of each of our players and ultimately get the best out of the team. The players were away on national duty. The seven players have to come back and get with the programme in terms of the mentality we are trying to create. And of course the majority of the squad is here and the players coming back need to jump on the train and get on with the mentality and what we are trying to implement. We need a ruthless mentality, how to kill off games, how to score the second goal. That’s the mentality we are trying to create, the winning mentality, the never say die attitude.”
With the Buccaneers sitting ninth on the log standings, Davids admitted that Pirates have not been at their best so far this season, but believes they will get to be on top of their game.
“We know that we are not in a good space in terms of results, but our performance has been good. So, to grab that mentality and go along with the performance says we are not going to give up, we are going to persevere and be able to get the result to compliment the performance.”