Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro has dispelled the myth that the club is prioritising cup competitions over the DStv Premiership title.
He says that the fact that such a high-profile club has not won the league in 11 years bothers him.
Jose Riveiro has won all three cup competitions he has taken part in since his arrival at Pirates last season.
He won last season’s MTN8 title four months into his tenure as Pirates head coach before clinching the Nedbank Cup to complete a cup double.
In the new season, Riveiro has already defended the MTN8, and the club is one of the favourites to win the newly formed Carling Knockout Cup, where they will play Richards Bay FC in the quarterfinals with big teams such as Kaizer Chiefs, Sundowns, and SuperSport United knocked out.
The Soweto giants beat Cape Town Spurs 2-0 in the Last-16 at Orlando Stadium on Friday.
In the DStv Premiership last season, he led Pirates to a second-place finish, and the Spaniard has made it clear that he wants to challenge Mamelodi Sundowns for the league crown.
However, Pirates has started the new season slowly as they currently sit in 14th place in the DStv Premiership, 17 points adrift of leaders Sundowns.
But Pirates have only played five games so far this season, compared to Sundowns’ eight, so they have a chance to climb the table if they can start winning consistently.
With that said Riveiro’s troops will look to improve their position in the DStv Premiership when they face AmaZulu at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Tuesday evening.
PIRATES COACH SETS SIGHTS ON LEAGUE TITLE
Orlando Pirates last won the league title in the 2011/12 season, and Riveiro insisted that the Premiership is the most important competition for his side.
“It’s a fact we haven’t won the league in a long time,” said Riveiro.
“The league is the most important competition. It goes without saying. [You play] 30 games away and home against everybody in every type of circumstance, under hot and rainy [conditions]. So it’s the most important competition, and we really want to find our rhythm in that competition.”
OTHER SOCCER NEWS:‘We can’t prioritise one thing….’: Gavin Hunt
“We are trying to maintain the level in every tournament we play in. It’s difficult mentally to face this amount of competition in a short space of time, but trust me that, our intention is at the same level in our league games.
“We are now 100% focused on the AmaZulu game on Tuesday.
“Personally, I think that my opinion will be shared by any other coach in the world — the league is the most important tournament.
“It doesn’t mean other tournaments are not important. Every competition has relevance because [it presents] an opportunity to improve the history of the club.”