Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro is eager to tap into the depth of his squad for their Caf Champions League preliminary round clash away to Djabal Club d’Iconi in Comoros on Saturday (kick-off 2.30pm).
Pirates have had a lukewarm start to their season. While they cruised into the MTN8 semi-finals after beating Sekhukhune 5-0, they haven’t been as fluid in the DStv Premiership.
They got their league campaign up and running in the second game, thumping Royal AM 4-2 – after losing 1-0 to Stellenbosch FC in their opener – but their latest result was disappointing.
Pirates drew 1-1 with Chippa United on Tuesday night, which sees their record standing at one win, one draw and one loss in the league, a bit of a worry for a team that’s tipped to fight for the championship.
Nonetheless, Pirates cannot sulk and moan. Instead, they must turn their focus to another title they are backed to challenge for the coveted Champions League.
And having stuck to pretty much the same squad since the start of the season in domestic football, Riveiro is eager to make changes in Comoros.
After all, he’s got the players at his disposal, having made a host of signings during pre-season.
New attacker Patrick Maswanganyi and returning striker Zakhele Lepasa have led Pirates front unit in the last four games, with Katlego Otladisa, their other new signing, sparingly used.
However, Riveiro could also hand first starts of the season to seniors such as Makhehlene Makhaula and Innocent Maela, who have made cameo appearances thus far.
“We have the opportunity to refresh the squad and to refresh the starting XI for the next game. So, we need to discuss and decide how much we need to do,” Riveiro said in Gqeberha following the draw with Chippa.
Since taking over the reins at Pirates last season, Riveiro has shown he’s not a fan of squad rotation. But the Spaniard is not naive – he knows they’ll have to find the balance between local and international football.
“Like I explained many times, we don’t believe in (squad) rotation like (a) strategy. We believe in rotation when it’s a moment to do rotation, when a player really needs to be rotated,” Riveiro said.
“Sometimes it’s not a rotation, (but) we just change because we need something different, or because we play with a moment of form of our players.
“We are going to play a different type of game in a different type of environment, and there’s going to be adjustments for sure. Not much, not much (knowledge about the Comorians).”
And while the score didn’t favour Pirates in their clash against Chippa, they were given a reminder of the hostile conditions, particularly hard tackles, they are set to endure on the continent.
“We couldn’t find continuity in our game – every time we find a player in advantage or half-spaces, like Patrick, the game was interrupted with fouls – nothing else but fouls.”