Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has warned his players against complacency when they take on Sekhukune United in Saturday’s Carling Knockout Cup quarterfinal, even if they have already beaten the Limpopo club three times this season.
He said Pirates must make good use of home advantage at the Orlando Stadium.
“It’s really good for us to have the opportunity to play with the front of the 12th man, in front of our fans, who give us the power, the energy, it's something that we are happy with.
“I already started to prepare for this game straight away after (last Saturday’s) derby, and Ive told the players, ‘it will be one of the most difficult games’. Why? Because, as I said to my boys, we have to be careful about a team who has been hurt.”
Pirates beaten Sekhukhune three times in the space of seven days in late August, winning 1-0 away in the first leg of their MTN8 semifinal, then 2-0 at home in the league and 3-0 at the Orlando Stadium in the second leg of the cup tie. It led to the sacking of Sekhukhune coach Cedric Kaze, who has since been replaced by Papi Zothwane.
“We have to prepare very well, and to be at the highest of our form, to be able to win that game, because I think it's a very tough opponent.”
Ouaddou has also called on his players to be more consistent.
“We are not perfect, and every game is another battle, where we have to improve and even when we are doing well, I'm still not 100 per cent convinced about some areas that we still need to work on, because we have very important fixtures coming up.
“I want to be satisfied about these areas, especially in terms of controlling the game. I think it's an area that we are pushing but a team of the magnitude of Pirates … if we want to be more ambitious, winning titles and going far in the Carling Cup and the Champions League … we need definitely to have more consistency in the control of the game,” Ouaddou said.