Ouaddou demands strong Orlando Pirates team as MTN8 silverware remains the target

Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou says he will continue to select his strongest available side as the club pursue MTN8 success, insisting the team is “not in the circus” and that players must earn their places.

Pirates began their campaign with a 2-0 league victory over Milford FC before edging Durban City 2-1 after extra time on Saturday to progress in the MTN8.

Ouaddou’s selection policy came under scrutiny after he fielded a strong starting line-up against Durban City. However, the coach said the expectations surrounding Orlando Pirates, from both the club’s management and supporters, meant he had no intention of treating the competition as a secondary priority.

“No, no, me. I’m not here to give flowers to to people. We are not in the circus. We are in a professional ecosystem,” he said after the match.

The Moroccan coach, who took charge before the start of the 2025/26 campaign, endured a difficult opening to his first season. Pirates lost their first two matches and there was already speculation that he could be dismissed.

Ouaddou eventually guided the side through that difficult period and turned the situation around, but he recalled the pressure he faced when explaining why he wants to maximise Orlando Pirates’ chances of winning every match.

“There is a lot of expectations. If you want me to remind you my two first games last season, you feel that I was happy to have eight bodyguards around me?

“So I want to win. I want to win games. Of course, I want to put the strongest team because there is a lot of expectations. The fans they want to win that competition. The club want to win it. It’s not easy.

“I want to win it as well. So I need to put strong team, and the players who deserve to play because they show in training, they show in the preparation.”

The coach said selection would be based on performances in training and during preparations for matches, rather than reputation or a desire to give opportunities to players who had not done enough to merit inclusion.

He also stressed that no member of the squad could assume a place in the starting line-up was secure. Competition for positions, he said, was an important part of maintaining standards and pushing players to improve.

“There is nothing guaranteed, and it’s how we push the players to have competition.

“But I’m not here to give flowers, because when you lose two three games, who is in the in the headlines?”

Orlando Pirates’ victory over Durban City followed their opening league win against Milford FC and gave Ouaddou a positive start to the new campaign. The coach’s immediate focus, however, remains on winning the MTN8, with the club and its fans expecting the team to compete for silverware rather than simply participate.