Coach wants strikers to be ruthless in front of goal

Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has insisted that they are still not efficient enough, despite winning games, cautioning that they should improve before they start the group phase of the CAF Champions League.

Pirates beat Sekhukhune United 1-0 in the Carling Knockout quarterfinals at Orlando Amstel Arena on Saturday. Ouaddou felt they should have won 5-0. Mpho Padime netted the game’s only goal to ensure that the defending champions advance to the semifinals.

“We could have scored three or four goals in the second half if we are honest, but we didn’t manage. Overall, well done to the boys... I think the most important thing is to go through to the next stage. Well done for scoring the goal and keeping another clean sheet,” Ouaddou said.

“But again, hey, I have a lot of work to do, huh? You know why strikers are the most expensive players in the world, it’s because of efficiency.”

The Bucs coach quipped that the reason he was “cheap” during his heyday as a defender was because he wasn’t scoring goals, encouraging his offensive players to be merciless in the final leg as the CAF Champions League group stages looms large.

“I was very cheap as a defender because I wasn’t scoring goals,” Ouaddou jokingly said.

“I am looking for the Champions League, so I am saying we should be more efficient because we create these big chances. I don’t want to be hard on the boys, but it [finishing] is definitely an area we need to continue working on, hoping we are going to score more goals. Today was a 5-0 game.”