Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou says you can’t have a squad of 30 players and stick to the same 18 every matchday, stating he will continue to ‘evolve’ his squad over the course of the 2025/26 season.
Ouaddou sprung some surprises against Magesi with Camren Dansin (20), Yanela Mbuthuma (23) and Nkosikhona Ndaba (23) earning starts, while the likes of Masindi Nemtajela (24) have started to earn regular minutes in recent weeks.
There have been several questions around the lack of starts for Tshegofatso Mabasa, Thalente Mbatha and captain Nkosinathi Sibisi in recent weeks but Ouaddou says it’s imperative to keep playing those who can handle the intensity of the game, and others will get opportunities in due time.
“The guys who are coming from injuries, I think it’s important to give them time to get fit, because as a coach I don’t want to [rush] players and put him in the game, the high intensity we’re asking for the players, you need to be fit,” Ouaddou said about his squad selections.
“Otherwise, we can risk the players to make him injured again. For me the players that I have are enough to make the turnover and to give chances to everyone, we gave some chances [against Magesi], which brought some freshness.
“I think it’s very important to evolve the majority of your group, I cannot have 30 players and play only 18 all the time, it doesn’t makes sense. You can have some risks of injuries, you can have some players who are not fit, so it’s important to keep this [rotation] dynamic.
“We have seen Dansin, a very young player, we have to give him a chance to express himself, he’s a very talented player, South African player, I like the way he played today, there’s Ndaba as the left-back who did a fantastic job. Mbuthuma is coming, so it’s important, we have depth and we have to give them chances.”
Ouaddou also went on to state that the CAF Champions League exit, has not changed their mindset of the season, stating their ambition to win everything possible is still there.
“The target is always the same, to play all competitions we can play with the ambition to win them, unfortunately this competitions [the CAF Champions League] that is very important is over, it doesn’t change our plan,” Ouaddou said.
“We are very ambitious and all the competitions we will play, we will play them with strength, organisation, and a lot of ambition to do our best.”
Pirates now turn their attention to Mamelodi Sundowns this weekend at Loftus Versfeld for a top of the table clash.
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