Cape Bees' clash is the perfect platform for Bucs to bounce back to winning ways

Offensive. Aggressive. Tight at the back. Those are the three character traits Kjell Jonevret wants as the hallmark of his Orlando Pirates

Three weeks into a job at a club navigating a difficult terrain to chart, his tenure has yielded three 1-1 draws against Polokwane City, SuperSport United and Kaizer Chiefs.

Pirates' barren streak of results in all competitions has stretched to 13 matches without a win in over 100 days. In the year of their 80th anniversary, the Buccaneers have gone about their business uninspiringly and unimaginatively.

Jonevret walked into a casualty ward of a collectively crushed confidence. Inside, he discovered a bruised and battered bunch, smarting from a couple of half-a-dozen batterings.

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Jonevret's primary job is to jolt the jaded team back into life, crank their creative juices and bolt belief back into their system.

Are they offensive? Slowly on the road to recovery.

Are they aggressive? Better than before but not there yet.

Are they tight at the back? Not yet. In fact, far from it. In Jonevret's first three matches, Bucs conceded first.

But, the golden thread of all those results is their bouncebackability. They just fall foul to their faulty finishing, which if they get right, will enable them to outscore their opponents. Jonevret is doing something to fix it.

The infusion of new arrivals Thembinkosi Lorch and Dove Wome has brought a fresh threat and a new dimension and direction to their offensive formation.

Positioning himself in pockets of space where he can hurt the opposition is something Wome dovetails with ease. It was the Togolese, borrowed from the books of SuperSport, who restored parity against Polokwane City.

Prior to that, Wome scored on debut, his goal in the 2-2 draw away to red-hot Cape Town City helping to ensure that Augusto Palacios didn't end his caretaker coach stint in defeat.

Wreaking havoc on the wing is the wont of Lorch whose twists and turns not only titillates the fans but also does telling damage.

The Bucs returnee from Chippa United was in his element, his close-range shot turned past Itumeleng Khune by Tshepo Masilela in the 1-1 draw with Kaizer Chiefs last week.

They need to get back that winning feeling to detour from the cul-de-sac of defeats (five) and draws (11) which have left them languishing in a lowly 11th on the Premier Soccer League log standings.

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Today's fixture in a Nedbank Cup last-32 clash with Eastern Cape Bees, a club in the ABC Motsepe League, is a perfect platform to begin the journey to winning ways.

The date against the amateurs at the Sisa Dukashe Stadium this afternoon could be a first step in a bid to salvage something by way of silverware in a season that has gone horribly pear-shaped.

With nothing to lose, the Bees will be gung ho, inspired by the knowledge that in 2013, ABC Motsepe side Maluti FET showed Pirates the ghost by eliminating them 4-1 at the same stage of the competition.

Jonevret is conscious of the threat of the unknown. He has committed to fielding his strongest side, though the temptation to field fringe players may loom large.

Either way, the stage is set for whoever makes the starting XI to show that they are getting in sync with the Swede's way of doing things.

And that way is to be offensive, aggressive and tight at the back. Anything else would be a disaster.

bbk@sundaytimes.co.za