Ouaddou praises Pirates debutant Sigomoshe after ‘shocking’ training intensity

Orlando Pirates coach Ouaddou Abdeslam has praised Bulelani Sigomoshe’s mentality after the defender made his first official appearance for the club in Tuesday’s 3-0 win over TS Galaxy.

The victory at the Orlando Amstel Arena restored Pirates to winning ways and extended their unbeaten start to the Betway Premiership season.

Sigomoshe, 26, joined Pirates from Milford FC before the transfer window closed in September. He was brought into the starting line-up after Kamogelo Sebelebele was ruled out through injury.

The defender’s performance earned strong approval from Abdeslam, who said his attitude in training had been key to the decision to give him an opportunity.

“I want to congratulate him on the time he spent on the pitch. He has a fantastic mentality,” Abdeslam told journalists after the match.

“For me, if I can have a lot of players like that to work with, I will be a happy coach. Fantastic mentality, very professional, very respectful.

“He has been working hard at training, so we wanted to give him an opportunity to play. We had another choice, we could have made another choice, but we wanted to reward him for the work he has been doing at training since he arrived.”

Sigomoshe adapting to Pirates demands

Abdeslam said Sigomoshe had initially found the intensity of training at Pirates difficult to manage, but believes continued work will allow him to build up to a full match.

“It’s not easy to adapt. You can ask him, he was shocked by the intensity of training,” said the coach.

“He has not seen that before, but I told him if he continues to work like that, he will be able to play 90 minutes.”

Pirates will now turn their attention to the CAF Champions League. They travel to Botswana to face African Stars of Namibia in the first leg of their second preliminary round tie on Saturday.

The match is scheduled to kick off at 17:00.