Ouaddou demands set-piece efficiency from Bucs

Orlando Pirates striker Tshegofatso Mabasa has given an insight into how new coach Abdeslam Ouaddou is trying to improve  the club’s performance in set pieces ahead of the new season.

“Coach Ouaddou is trying to improve the areas where we lacked last season,” Mabasa told the media. “He is very demanding, [and] he loves his players at the same time.”

Ouaddou joined the Buccaneers in the offseason, taking over from Jose Riveiro, and was in charge of the preseason camp in Spain. Mabasa said Ouaddou’s main priority was to get the team better at defending set pieces.

“He is also encouraging and similar to coach Jose. There is not a lot that the coach is trying to change, just the way we defend our set pieces and how we deal with our transition as well.

“We lost the CAF Champions League because of the set play. We went to the Pyramids, and we conceded three goals from set piecesand we were out of the tournament.

“It’s very funny actually how we lost the Champions League on a set piece, but yet in the country, we were the best in terms of defending that. There are a lot of things that we have to take into consideration this season.”

The Buccaneers bought several new players ahead of the new season as they look to improve and Mabasa has been impressed with how quickly they adjusted and said their preseason camp in Spain helped them.

“The trip to Spain allowed us to integrate them [the new players] away from all the noise in the country,” he said. 

“You look at [Sipho] Mbule, for example, his performance in the friendly games, you look at [Oswin] Appollis as well. Now it’s just for them to come back home and do it here."

Bucs will start their MTN8 title defence against Polokwane City at Orlando Stadium on Saturday (3pm).

MTN8 fixtures

Saturday: Pirates v Polokwane, Orlando (3pm); Sekhukhune v Galaxy, Peter Mokaba (6pm).

Sunday: Stellenbosch v AmaZulu, Cape Town (3pm); Sundowns v Bay, Lucas Moripe (6pm).

SowetanLIVE