Jose Riveiro: ‘I don’t sleep nor have dinner when Pirates lose’

Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro has revealed that he does not sleep nor eat when the team loses.

The Spaniard said this after they managed to defeat stubborn Golden Arrows side on Saturday in the DStv Premiership encounter under challenging circumstances.

The Soweto giants scored second-half goals for the first time this season to claim a 3-1 victory at home.

The tight match was headed for a one-all stalemate after Monnapule Saleng, and Velemseni Ndwandwe had scored for their respective sides. 

The duo of Terrence Dzvukamanja and Vincent Pule, both substitutes, scored for the Bucs in late stoppage time.

WHAT KEPT PIRATES PLAYERS FIGHTING TILL THE END AGAINST ARROWS

“First, they [players] know who they are; we all know we must do our best; many eyes are following and monitoring us. We are a team that never takes a break if we speak about the performance,” Riveiro told the media.

“They have good competitors. It’s one of the things that we do every week, almost in every exercise and every scenario we complete. They like to win, and everyone I have is very competitive.

“They did what they must do in the circumstance, go till the end. It’s one of the principles that we follow.”

WHAT JOSE RIVEIRO AND HIS PLAYERS DO AFTER FAILING TO WIN

Riveiro further revealed what he and his players feel and do when they fail to get maximum points at the end of each match.

“If we don’t win, they don’t sleep. If I don’t win, I don’t sleep. I don’t have dinner or breakfast. I have nothing. It’s too much sometimes. 

“For the players, it’s the same. They suffer; they know what it means to finish the game with three points or not,” he added.

The late victory saw the Happy People end a three-match losing streak. They moved to fifth place in the DStv Premiership log table with 22 points from 16 matches.

Next for the Sea Robbers is a home tie against out-of-form Stellenbosch FC on 22 January.

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