Jonevret asks for more time to make Pirates great again

27 February 2017 - 21:12 By Marc Strydom
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New Orlando Pirates head coach Kjell Jonevret. The 54-year-old Swede was unveiled on Monday 20 February 2017.
New Orlando Pirates head coach Kjell Jonevret. The 54-year-old Swede was unveiled on Monday 20 February 2017.
Image: Orlando Pirates via Twitter

Kjell 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.

Bucs were impressive in patches in Jonevret’s first game as coach in the 1-1 draw against Polokwane City at Orlando Stadium on Saturday.

A soaked pitch made for tough conditions.

Generally‚ though‚ Pirates showed signs of a better structure in defence and direction going forward.

An Mpho Makola error‚ giving the ball away in his own half‚ led to Rodney Ramagalela’s opener for City in the 54th minute.

Bucs profited when Thapelo Tshilo missed a regulation header in Polokwane’s area to gift Dove Wome a 58th-minute equaliser.

Riyaad Norodien hit the upright in the dying seconds‚ denying Jonevret a win in his first game.

Overall‚ having had half-a-week to train the team‚ Joneveret could not have asked for too much more‚ even if he was “not satisfied with a draw”.

“Most times when we have a draw I'm not satisfied‚” the 54-year-old Swede said.

“It could be sometimes.

"For example when the team scored in the 93rd minute in Cape Town [against Cape Town City last week]‚ then it could be a little OK.

“But today I was hoping for a victory.

"So we could get rid of that talk that we have not won for a long time.

"But at the same time there was a lot of things that we saw today‚ and there were some big players.

“Of course this was the first time I saw the players from the sideline in a game.

"And of course there were a few I was really impressed by‚ and a few I’d have to talk a bit to‚ and expect a bit more next time.

“It’s not going to be immediate.

"This is going to take a bit more time.

“But of course now we can start working on a bit of a higher level next week than we did this week because we have learned a bit more about each other.

“So hopefully we are going to get better and better.

"But I’m not satisfied. I want to win.”

- TMG Digital

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