Plenty for Pirates coach to work on

Mushin Ertugral marched up and down the touchline in his usual animated nature as he watched the Buccaneers lose the pre-season friendly 2-0 to Kaizer Chiefs.

The concept of the Carling Black Label Cup being an ‘off day’ for Orlando Pirates coach Muhsin Ertugral, with the supporters choosing the starting XI and a lucky fan ‘in charge’ of the club on the day, was lost on the fiery Turkish tactician.

Ertugral marched up and down the touchline in his usual animated nature as he watched the Buccaneers lose the pre-season friendly 2-0 to Kaizer Chiefs on Saturday in a sold-out FNB Stadium. He stormed into the dressing-room at half-time with the Buccaneers in disarray and the results were easy to see as Pirates improved towards the latter stages of the match.

Those few minutes gave an indication of the shake-up Pirates will undergo under Ertugral. He wants to change the mind-set of the defenders, the formation the club will use and how they play. Gladwin Shitolo will play a starring role at the back, where Bucs struggled last season.

“Shitolo, for me, is a surprise package,” Ertugral said. “I see him as a future Bafana Bafana player. The potential he has is amazing. He just needs to get a little bit of confidence. He has been sent away (on loan) a couple of times. He had a great season with Golden Arrows (last season). He is a very good centreback. He fits in well in the way I want Pirates to operate, playing from the back. We can’t just have defenders who defend. There were three or four moments where Eddie (Edwin Gyimah) played the ball straight over the middle line when we started the attack. That’s not what we want from our defensive line.”

Both Ayanda Gcaba and Rooi Mahamutsa are also guilty of the same weakness. The two will need to change that if they are to fit into Ertugral’s way. Happy Jele is at risk of seeing limited game time due to lack of pace, with the coach promising to add “youthful spirit” at the back. Abbubaker Mobara won’t be the one doing that. Ertugral is adamant he will use him in midfield - as a foil for the defence, with Mpho Makola and Oupa Manyisa operating in front of him as playmakers.

The wingers will be key in Ertugral’s game plan. And he has a lot to choose from. On Saturday Thabo Rakhale and Riyaad Norodien showed that the coach, who is taking charge of his sixth PSL club since first coming to South Africa in 2001, will have a headache choosing who will lead the attack on the right flank. Norodien is direct and powerful, while Rakhale is skilful and draws many defenders to himself to free up space in the box. Bernard Morrison would exploit that place if he is played as a second striker after the experiment of playing Tendai Ndoro and Thamsanqa Gabuza led to the team being too static.

“We didn’t have a punch, especially from (Issa) Sarr in the middle,” Ertugral said. “He lost nearly every ball in the build-up process. There is no magic wand in football, and we need to get the ball as quickly as possible to the side and then the side goes forward.”

Ertugral has just over three weeks to instil that to the team with the season starting on August 23. - The Star