New Pirates coach believes he holds crucial advantage ahead of Soweto Derby

Kjell Jonevret may be playing in his first Soweto derby on Saturday but the new Orlando Pirates coach feels that might be an advantage for him.

The calm‚ assured Swede has swaggered into his job without any real sign of insecurities‚ guiding Bucs to a 1-1 Absa Premiership draw against Polokwane City at Orlando Stadium in his first official match on Saturday.

Now‚ in his second game‚ Jonevret faces the biggest match on the South African sporting calendar‚ even if it has been tarnished by conservative football and low scorelines in recent years‚ as Bucs line-up for one of the world's biggest football derbies against Kaizer Chiefs.

“Maybe it could be positive that I don’t really know what I’m going into‚" Jonevret said on Thursday.

• Jonevret asks for more time to make Pirates great againKjell Jonevret has the look of a man who can bring a breath of fresh air to Orlando Pirates‚ a team that desperately needs to learn to breathe easily again. 

"I’m not so stressed two days before the game. I'm working as normal.

“I try to prepare the players as normal.

"Had I been down this two or three times I could maybe be a bit nervous. It could be a positive thing," Jonevret pointed out that he's no stranger to derbies.

“But even if I haven't been in the Soweto derby‚ I have played a lot of derbies‚" he said.

"I coached in Stockholm‚ in the capital of Sweden and we have two or three big teams there‚ even if the arena is maybe a maximum of 50 000 or 60 000.

• Polokwane steal crucial point from unstable BuccaneersIn injury time Riyaad Norodien struck the upright to deny Pirates an end to their 10-match winless run, and new coach Kjell Jonevret a win in his first match. 

“Those games are special‚ and the winner there walks around for a few weeks‚ while the loser stays at home with mama.

“So I have been a little bit in this situation before‚ and I know a bit about it.”

Jonevret (54) is coaching his first team outside Scandinavia.

His previous clubs include Djurgardens‚ with whom he won a Swedish league and cup double in the mid-2000s‚ and most recently Viking FK in Norway.

 - TMG Digital/TMG Sport