Rulani Mokwena wants to make Orlando Pirates supporters ‘Happy People’ again

Orlando Pirates coach Rulani Mokwena has admitted that their trophy drought of the past few years has been long enough and he wants to make the Buccaneers ‘Happy People’ again.

Pirates last won the Absa Premiership title in 2012 and a major domestic trophy in 2014 when they annexed the Nedbank Cup‚ and they approach this season’s Telkom Knockout under pressure to deliver silverware.

Speaking as they prepared to face Stellenbosch FC in the last-16 round of the TKO on Saturday at Orlando Stadium in Soweto‚ Mokwena admitted the reality of the situation that he needs room to grow as a head coach‚ while at the same time Pirates have to start winning trophies again.

“I need air to breathe but Pirates needs trophies and we know about our drought‚” he said.

“Our people deserve to be happy. We were once known as the ‘Happy People’ and we would like to be known as the ‘Happy People’ once again.

“The drought started before me and it will continue even if it is not with me.

"It is not about me but about the club and the most important thing for me is to serve and make sure that we do the utmost best.

“Pirates is a club that must be winning trophies and competing for championships every season – that is the responsibility that comes with being at Pirates.

"I don’t need the trophies but the club needs them and that’s the most important thing.

“Our duty is to serve and make sure that we do the best that we can to fulfil the expectations and make sure that we make our people happy.”

Pirates have started the league season unconvincingly as they are currently sitting in eighth spot with nine points‚ having let in 12 goals‚ an aspect which is worrying Mokwena.

“We concede goals‚ not necessarily because of structural issues but we have analysed those goals we have conceded from the beginning of the season‚” he said.

“We have tried to dig deep into the issues and not just scratch the surface because the devil is in the depth.

“We want to find as much information as possible to try and rectify some of the problems.

“We are also looking at the positives because we have scored a lot of goals and we want to keep our attacking prowess. We have worked on defensive structure and we have tried to improve on those things.”