Pirates will close the gap with Sundowns: Miguel Timm

Orlando Pirates strongman Miguel Timm says all the signs are there that his team will soon close the big gap with powerful Mamelodi Sundowns.

While Sundowns have continued their stranglehold on South African football, Pirates have shown big improvements under Spanish coach Jose Riveiro and launched a serious charge towards Masandawana’s dominance.

Timm and his Pirates teammates defeated Sundowns 3-0 on aggregate in the semifinals, on their way to winning the MTN8 title. The Buccaneers are also in the Nedbank Cup final, where they are the favourites to beat Sekhukhune United at Loftus Stadium in Pretoria on Saturday (6pm).

Bucs finished second in the DStv Premiership title race, a distant 16 points behind runaway winners Sundowns, who clinched a sixth league title in succession.

It’s those improvements that give Timm hope the Buccaneers will soon fight for the premiership against Sundowns.

“I don’t [compare our team to them] and I don’t think any of us have compared ourselves to them. [But] we have set our foundation and the more we improve on what we have done this season, the closer we will get — time will tell,” Timm said.

“I’m confident the gap will be closed because of the work we have done.

“If we continue to focus on what we are doing and not compare ourselves and our journey to anybody else's, we will soon be there.”

Pirates’ improvements can also be seen in how they dominate the PSL Awards nominees list, in contrast to last season where they finished sixth in the league.

Like his coach, Timm doesn’t believe a team of Pirates’ stature should be content with just qualifying for the Caf Champions League. 

“As much as we are happy with qualifying for the Champions League, one of the targets we set ourselves as a group was to compete for the [league] title.

“The positive we will take is the solid foundation set for the future and we will give it a go next season.

“I’m not saying we are not happy with reaching two cup finals, but we have the capacity to do more.”

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