Ouaddou stresses consistency as Pirates tackle league title race head on

Pirates are currently four points behind log leaders Mamelodi Sundowns – with two games in hand, as they head into the second round.  

Having dropped points after being held to a goalless draw by Sekhukhune United at the weekend, and competing with more than three teams for league honours, Ouaddou has called for resilience. 

"This league is one of the best, and one of the toughest in Africa – I can guarantee you that, and like the captain [Sibisi] said, the race is like a marathon actually, and you have to be consistent in every game, every week." said Ouaddou.

"And we have the depth, of course, we have good players and everybody is important in our team; everybody will have the moment to express himself and to help the team.

"For us, we are focussed on winning every game and at the end of the season, we will count the points and we will see what happens.

"But I used to say a saying in French, 'Don't sell the bear skin before you have killed the bear.' So step by step we are working hard, and at the end of the season, we can speak."

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With Mamelodi Sundowns, AmaZulu and Kaizer Chiefs all among the front runners, Ouaddou feels mentality and approach will be crucial as they go toe to toe in the run-in. 

"Look, of course I know the history of the club but, for me, it's a new season with a lot of changes and, of course, there's a lot of ambition so I'm just focussed on the season and how we deal with each game, each weekend, how we prepare the players to win," he added.

"You spoke about reducing the [four-point] gap, of course, there's this idea to reduce the gap but not only that, maybe there's an opportunity to go maybe higher and we have to take this opportunity, but we need to win every game.

"I will not tell you that we have a target of points for each month, no! The mentality is for every game we start with the target and aim to win. 

"Of course, sometimes it's not possible, like last week – we played that game with intensity, efforts and the players really gave everything, but it was not the day to take the [three] points.

"But we have to keep that same spirit, and if we keep the same spirit and unity, I'm sure we will surprise a lot of people."