Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has kept his head down and eyes on his work through a tumultuous opening month in charge of the club, who will be looking for their first league points of the season.
Ouaddou got his tenure at Pirates off to a positive start as they beat Polokwane City 2-0 in their MTN8 quarterfinal at the start of the month but then suffered surprise losses to Sekhukhune United at home and Marumo Gallants away in their opening pair of games in the Betway Premiership.
It left the 46-year-old Ouaddou under pressure as Pirates hosted league champions Mamelodi Sundowns in the first leg of their MTN8 semifinal at home on Saturday, but they staged a second-half comeback to draw 1-1.
“You know, when you are doing this job as a coach, you need passion. You need energy. And, of course, you know that when you don't get results at such a big club, you can anticipate questions from people,” Ouaddou said.
“I'm always giving my best with my players. Focusing on my job. I know the task is not easy when you have so many, many players.
“You have to find the right solutions. That’s what we are trying to do, and we have to believe in that,” he added.
“I know that there is a lot of expectation, but the only thing we want to do is to give happiness to our fans, to win games and to bring back the club to where it should be. This is the expectation of the club, of the board, and it's what we are working towards every day.”
Ouaddou has another tough week ahead as the Buccaneers host Stellenbosch in the league on Wednesday and then go away to a sold-out Atteridgeville to meet Sundowns in Saturday’s second leg.
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