Pirates legend calls finishing expert into question

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Jerry Sikhosana has pleaded for a chance to be part of the current Orlando Pirates set-up, claiming that he can do a better job than finishing specialist Stephane Adam if given the opportunity.

The Soweto giants addressed their finishing woes at the start of the season with the acquisition of the French specialist, however,  since his appointment Pirates has only scored three goals in five matches.

‘We expected a lot from the team, especially after how they finished last season and also if you look at their signings. Unfortunately, it has been a disappointing start to be honest,’ Sikhosana said at the Soweto Gold Beer tournament on Saturday.

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‘I think we need to get somebody more professional in terms of a strikers’ coach because I’ve seen more defenders going into striking positions.

‘While the likes of [Thamsanqa] Gabuza, [Justin] Shonga and [Augustine] Mulenga miss one-on-ones and penalties. For me, it’s still a big question, is he the right guy to coach the strikers?’ he added.

‘Legs of thunder’ as the Pirates legend is known categorically stated that the side have quality strikers within their ranks, but something is just not clicking, which was charcaterised in Pirates’ MTN8 quarter-final loss to SuperSpot United.

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‘We’ve got quality strikers, but those strikers are firing blanks.

‘It leaves question marks as to why the strikers are not converting when Pirates have brought in the first-ever finishing coach in the PSL? We’ve been crying about it for a while as former strikers, but now that we have one, it’s so disappointing.

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‘I don’t want to be the striking specialist per se, but given the opportunity to be part of the team, I’d relish that. I won’t say I’ll change things, but I think talking to the boys from someone who has done it would make a huge difference.

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‘The plus is that, I’d be someone who knows what it means to wear that black and white jersey. The club is an institution, so it needs someone with guts and courage to get the job done.

‘For me, [when] we had the best teams was when we had the local coaches at the helm, especially at Bafana Bafana,  because those guys understood our culture.

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‘But, look at how we’ve fared when European coaches came in and coach Bafana. We want to play football at the highest level, but we can’t be a western culture, we need to stay true to ourselves,’ he concluded.

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Pirates resume their Absa Premiership campaign on Tuesday, when they do duty at the Peter Mokaba Stadium against Black Leopards with kickoff set for 7:30pm.

Photo: Backpagepix

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Marshall Gouts