Bucs crew will feel the lash in galley

04 August 2015 - 09:17 By TSHEPANG MAILWANE

Orlando Pirates coach Eric Tinkler has no intention of rotating his squad, despite his concerns over fatigue. The Buccaneers will enter a phase in which they will have very little time between matches for training sessions and the medical team will try hard to ensure players are in good condition during the hectic months that lie ahead.They will be travelling even more than they did during the off season and Tinkler will need to rest his players whenever the opportunity arises.Their domestic campaign gets under way tonight with an MTN8 quarterfinal clash against Ajax Cape Town at Orlando Stadium before they take on Tunisian outfit CS Sfaxien in the CAF Confederation Cup at the same venue on Saturday."Fatigue is a major concern for me. We have tried to rest the players as much as possible. Our fixtures don't help us."The game against Chiefs was a great opportunity for me to see Tendai Ndoro and Luvuyo Memela, the winger."We will play and reassess the team on Wednesday , so we can see who we will have in our starting 11 on Saturday."Ajax coach Roger de Sa returns to Orlando Stadium hoping his youngsters can perform as well as they did in the Nedbank Cup last season.The Urban Warriors reached the final only to lose to Mamelodi Sundowns.They had a good pre-season, with matches against Jomo Cosmos, Sundowns, Supersport United and Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon.Unlike previous seasons, Ajax have managed to keep prized assets such as Rivaldo Coetzee, Bantu Mzwakali and Riyaad Norodien, and that should make them a threat to any team.They will, however, be without veteran striker Nathan Paulse, who has a thigh strain.Promising winger Tashreeq Morris is also out with a knee injury, but captain Travis Graham returns after recovering from a hamstring injury.Pirates v Ajax is on Supersport 4 at 6.30pm tonight...

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