Characteristics of a good Pirates coach

Jose Riveiro sat on the Orlando Pirates bench for the last time on Tuesday night and watched his team defeat Golden Arrows 3-0 in a Betway Premiership clash.

- 

The search is now on for the next Bucs coach. Coaching Pirates, as many would know, is no walk in the park. There is a lot that a coach has to deal with behind the scenes to ensure the team is functioning and that he does not lose the dressing room, which tends to have some big egos. So, as the Buccaneers search for their next man to sit in the hot-seat, Soccer Laduma’s Tshepang Mailwane looks at the type of characteristics someone needs to get it right at Pirates by speaking to former players of the Soweto giants.

Handling the dressing roomMpho Makola - former Pirates midfielder

“I think handling the dressing room is number one on the list. You need a coach who has character. You can't just have anyone. If you look at the coaches who have failed at big teams, in most cases it's coaches who did not really have character. These are coaches who were either pushed around by management or players. I've seen players sulking at training because the coach did not play them and then the next day the coach was soft and nice towards them. I'll give you an example. With 'VV' (Vladimir Vermezovic), if you did not run, then you did not play. If you didn't work hard, you didn't play. He was not someone players would take advantage of. In a big team, there are a lot of egos. Some players come in and think they are superstars and yet they have not done anything for the team. 'VV' was the type of coach who would deal with such players. "VV" was a soldier, but he was a good coach. The issue with South African players is that we don't like being disciplined at times, especially the so-called talented players. They do not like to be reprimanded, and I think it's because the coaching at youth development allows these players to get away with a lot of things. And these coaches are not asking for a lot. They just want you to get to training on time, focus during sessions, and apply what you practice to the actual matches.