Orlando Pirates coach Kjell Jonevret admits that he doesn’t know whether he will remain head coach of the Mayfair-based outfit in the 2017-18 Absa Premiership season.

The Buccaneers slumped to a 1-0 defeat to arch-rivals Kaizer Chiefs in the Carling Black Cup, and with reports continuing to do the rounds linking former Pirates mentor Milutin Sredojević with a return to the club, Jonevret revealed that he doesn’t know what the new season holds.

“When I first arrived here, my mission was to first try and save our season as soon as we could,” he told The Star.

“We were able to get the points we needed to get ourselves away from the relegation zone, while also making sure that we worked a bit harder to reach the (Nedbank Cup) final.

“For this season, my technical team and I sat down and spoke about what we thought we should do to try and make this team a top side again.

“I believe everybody wants to see Pirates being up there again. Even [Kaizer] Chiefs, I believe, wants us up there alongside them as well. And that has been our focus this time around.

“But at the same time, I’ve worked in this business long enough, and I know how things work. Sometimes, they (clubs) have patience and sometimes, they do not,” he added.

When asked about the possibility of being shown the exit door, the Swede mentor didn’t say much, but promised to continue to do his best.

“It’s very difficult to comment about the matter. I’ll continue being professional and getting the team to work very hard every single day.

“If we continue giving it our all, then I believe a few pieces will begin to fall into place. And we will certainly have a far much better season in the new campaign.

“If the club has found a great coach somewhere, then that decision is not up to me. I’m pretty cool about everything else and will continue giving it my very best,” he concluded.

Photo: Muzi Ntombela/Backpagepix

– This story originally appeared on SportsClub.co.za