Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou says he is “not here to give flowers” to his players and risk losing his job, as he explained his cautious approach to team selection.
Addressing a post-match press conference at Orlando Amstel Arena following the narrow 2-1 victory over Durban City in an MTN8 quarter-final tie on Saturday, Ouaddou explained what inspired his starting line-up.
The former Fulham defender picked what looked like his strongest team. But they were dragged to extra-time by the visitors from KwaZulu-Natal, who played the better part of the contest with 10 men following a 35th-minute red card to Brooklyn Poggenpoel.
From the team that started against Milford FC in their Betway Premiership season opener last weekend, Ouaddou made just one change. Deon Hotto made way for Nkosikhona Ndaba at left-back. But the core of the team remained, including the likes of goalkeeper Sipho Chaine, Tshepang Moremi, Oswin Appollis, Nkosinathi Sibisi and Patrick Maswanganyi.
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While referring to last season, when he guided his team to defeats in their first two Betway Premiership matches, Ouaddou was left needing security around him as fans bayed for his head. For that reason, the ex-Morocco international said he will always pick his best soldiers for battle, even in cup games.
“I’m not here to give flowers to people, we are not in a circus. We are in a professional ecosystem. There are a lot of expectations,” said Ouaddou.
“If you want me to remind you of my first two games last season, do you think that I was happy to have eight bodyguards around me? So I want to win, I want to win games. Of course, I want to put the strongest team because there are a lot of expectations. The fans want to win that competition [MTN8], the club want to win it. It’s not easy.
“I want to win it as well. So I need to put a strong team, the guys who deserve, the players who deserve to play because they show in training, they show in the preparation. There is nothing guaranteed, and it’s how we push the players to have competition.
“But I’m not here to give flowers because when you lose two or three games, who is in the headlines?”
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