Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has suggested that his players play with the stress of being booed at their home venue, Orlando Amstel Arena, attributing Sunday’s 6-0 win over TS Galaxy at Mbombela Stadium to “having true support”.
“Wherever we go in SA, especially here [in Mbombela], in Durban, the boys are supported by the fans. You can see that they are not stressed,” Ouaddou said.
“When we have true support, you can see that the players are flying, but when you miss the ball or you miss a chance and you start getting booed by your own supporters, you get stressed and you are not in a good environment, so we thank the fans today … they were the 12th man.”
Relebohile Mofokeng’s hat-trick, coupled with goals from Tshepang Moremi and Kamogelo Selebele and Mlungisi Mbunjana’s own goal, saw Pirates humiliate Galaxy. The win also saw Bucs oust Mamelodi Sundowns, who have a game in hand, from the summit of the table.
Not for the first time this season, Pirates players were booed by their own fans after their 1-all draw against Siwelele in Orlando almost two weeks ago.
Ouaddou has beseeched those supporters who slate his players when the chips are down to leave the players alone and direct the criticism to him instead.
“If somebody has to criticise, please criticise the coach. I am ready to shoulder criticism, but not our boys, please. Preserve our boys … we need to help them. Some of them are young and they’ve just started at a big club like this, so we don’t have to give them pressure,” Ouaddou emphasised.
“When you see players performing with a lot of trust and confidence, it’s because they feel supported. They’re not afraid to make mistakes. It happened in some games because the guys were not in the right environment to perform because they are scared to make mistakes, but today they felt fantastic support from our fans … that’s what we are looking for.”
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