Sipho Chaine sets sights on sustained Orlando Pirates title success

Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Sipho Chaine wants the club to turn last season’s league triumph into the beginning of a regular winning cycle, rather than an isolated achievement.

Pirates ended a 14-year wait for the league title last season, with Chaine making a significant contribution by recording a club-record 21 clean sheets. Now, the Bafana Bafana goalkeeper is urging the Sea Robbers to build on that success and challenge for the championship year after year.

“You’ve seen what we have built over the years and it’s not going to stop now. Winning is a culture at Orlando Pirates. We are going into every game expecting and working hard to win,” said Chaine.

The goalkeeper believes Pirates have already developed the habits required to compete for major honours. He also says the league title should no longer be regarded as unfamiliar territory for the club.

“Even the league title is no longer an unfamiliar territory for us, so the aim is to do it again and again, like we have done with the MTN8.”

Pirates have won four successive MTN8 titles, a run Chaine sees as an example of the consistency the club now wants to establish in the league.

However, he accepts that defending the championship will present a greater challenge than winning it for the first time. Pirates’ success last season brought an end to Mamelodi Sundowns’ eight-year dominance of the league.

Chaine said the pressure would increase because Pirates would now be the team others were trying to catch, while maintaining the standard that delivered the title would be more demanding than reaching the summit.

“We know that it’s going to take a lot because every season is different and, now that we’ve won it, it will be even harder because it’s much easier to chase than to maintain when you are at the top … It’s the most difficult thing because the reference has to be yourself and what you want to do more.”

The immediate focus for Pirates is on the MTN8, with their next match coming against Durban City in the quarter-finals at Orlando Amstel Arena on Saturday. The game is scheduled to begin at 15:00.

The fixture gives Pirates another opportunity to continue the competition record that Chaine referenced, although his wider ambition is for the club’s league success to become equally familiar.

Last season’s title was the first league championship Pirates had secured in 14 years. It also carried added significance because it ended Mamelodi Sundowns’ lengthy eight-year spell of dominance.

Chaine’s 21 clean sheets were a key part of Pirates’ campaign, and he now wants the team to use that achievement as a platform for further success rather than treating it as the conclusion of a long-term objective.

The MTN8 quarter-final between Orlando Pirates and Durban City is the club’s next test as it aims to sustain its winning culture and add to its run of four consecutive MTN8 triumphs.