Ouaddou backs Maswanganyi to fill Mofokeng’s creative void at Orlando Pirates

Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou believes Patrick Maswanganyi can take on the responsibility of replacing Relebohile Mofokeng as the team’s main creative influence.

The Buccaneers are looking for a new number 10 following Mofokeng’s departure. The attacking midfielder played a significant role for Pirates last season, producing 10 goals and eight assists.

Ouaddou, however, is confident Maswanganyi has the tactical understanding and technical ability required to lead the club’s attacking play.

Maswanganyi strengthened that belief with an impressive display in Pirates’ 3-0 victory over Chippa United at Kings Park Stadium on Sunday. The playmaker was heavily involved in the team’s attacking transitions and helped drive the side forward throughout the match.

The performance was his fourth appearance of the campaign. He has already contributed one goal and two assists, providing early evidence that he can handle the demands of becoming Pirates’ principal creative outlet.

“Look, everybody who understands football and knows football can see the fantastic quality in Tito,” Ouaddou said post-match.

The coach believes Maswanganyi’s influence will increase when he plays with a more forward-thinking approach and occupies the right areas of the pitch.

“As long as he brings the game in his favour, to play forward. It’s what we have been saying to him: to bring the game forward. You see that he can help the team, and he can really be the link between the defenders and the strikers.

“Not only that, he is able to feed in the last third, but he’s somebody who is able to score as well.

“So, I think he has a lot of talent; he knows. When we sit with him, we talk a lot about which area he needs to occupy. He must occupy, in order to be more efficient.

“We did a lot of video sessions with him as well, and he’s a clever boy. He knows exactly what we’re expecting from him, and he showed it today.

Maswanganyi’s progress has been supported by detailed work on the training ground and during video analysis sessions, with Ouaddou stressing the importance of his positioning and decision-making.

The Pirates manager also said the midfielder’s attitude and preparation have been positive since the beginning of the campaign. He now wants Maswanganyi to reproduce that level of performance consistently.

“Again, I hope we will have this consistency because he’s a key player for Pirates, definitely. And like you said, truly, with the departure of Rele, he has a big space there to play and a very big role to play for our club. I’m very happy about his preparation since the beginning of the season.

“I’m very happy about how he’s training. I’m very happy about his attitude, and it’s what I’m asking for my players. The work starts in training, not during the weekend, during the game,” explained the lanky gaffer.

With Mofokeng no longer available to occupy the creative role he filled last term, Maswanganyi has an opportunity to establish himself at the centre of Pirates’ attacking structure. His latest performance suggests he is already responding to that challenge.