Orlando Pirates assistant coach Mandla Ncikazi does not think their transfer policy has anything to do with their failure to win the league in almost a decade.
Pirates, who have finished as runners-up to Mamelodi Sundowns for three consecutive seasons in the Betway Premiership and have not won the league since 2011-12, have mainly recruited potential rather than fully fledged stars in recent years.
“In all our team meetings, there has never been a highlight of how important it is to win the league,” Ncikazi said at a press conference at Rand Stadium on Tuesday.
“The team we have, that has won against almost every team, I don’t think the policy has anything [to do] with the players we have.”
In the current Pirates squad, 35-year-old Deon Hotto is the only player who has won the league title in South Africa with Bidvest Wits in 2016-17.
However, Ncikazi was adamant their players are capable of finally listing the trophy.
“If they have the capacity to score 50 goals with five games to go, where the only Pirates team that has scored more than that is the team that scored 52 [in 2004-05 under Kostadin Papic], I don’t think the question is suitable,” he said.
Pirates are at the top of the table, enjoying a two-point lead over eight time successive league champions Mamelodi Sundowns, who have two games in hand.
Bucs’s immediate focus is on Sunday’s Soweto derby against Kaizer Chiefs at FNB Stadium (3pm).
“This match is going to be highly competitive based on both teams having been in good form of late,” Ncikazi said.
“Both teams have won five of their last seven games. There were 29 goals scored by our team, 12 by the opponent. They’ve conceded only three goals and we’ve conceded four. It shows the margins will be narrow.”
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