Is Riveiro making excuses with his big squad claims at Orlando Pirates?

After his team’s recent setbacks, Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro has offered several explanations; the most recent one concerns the size of his team.

The Pirates coach noted that managing a large team is challenging.
Riveiro stated that he is having trouble making everyone pleased.
Three of the Buccaneers’ previous five games have ended in losses.
Consequently, what happened? Since joining Pirates at the beginning of the season, Riveiro has recently stated that he is finding it difficult to handle the large group he inherited.

This comes after he said that he “does not eat or sleep” when his team loses, despite the fact that he has repeatedly stated that his squad “did not deserve to lose” following previous defeats.

Pirates defeated Golden Arrows 3-1 on Saturday to snap a three-match losing streak, but their lacklustre performance left the coach under constant criticism.

Although most coaches would welcome the extra players, the Spanish tactician has indicated that having 32 players available to him is one of the challenges he has in his work.

HOW DID HE SAY? “The figure is only that—a figure. In order to work with this figure, I must adjust. According to Sowetan Live, Riveiro stated, “I’m happy to do it.”

“It’s complicated because we have a set amount of time to work and distribute minutes, and we want every gamer to feel the same way. I mean, it’s part of my job. It’s hard to choose, challenging to figure out which is the number [one].

“I’ve worked for smaller teams in Europe as well as teams with more and less experience. You must adjust to yourself.

Because of the size of the squad, I’m learning a lot this season about how to incorporate everyone in the process as much as possible.

As the boys are the ones that work during the week to play, and I’m the one telling them, “No, you’re not going to play this week,” it takes a lot of work on my part as well as theirs. Thus, maintaining that relationship is difficult, but we prefer to do this.

THE BIGGER PICTURE: With the season just halfway over, Pirates appear to be eliminated from the championship fight already. Currently in fifth place with 22 points, they are 19 points behind leaders Mamelodi Sundowns, who can improve their advantage to 21 points with a victory over SuperSport United on Monday.

Riveiro’s arrival, along with several other significant additions, did not put Pirates where they had intended to be at the beginning of the 2022–23 season.

Even though he has already won one award (the MTN8), the supporters want him to establish his dominance in the league, and he hasn’t yet succeeded in doing so.

Next up, what? When Pirates host Stellenbosch in their upcoming PSL game on January 22, they will look to build on their recent success.