They need more time Dikgang Mabalane – Former Pirates winger

“It has not been the easiest of starts to the season, but I think that they need to be given more time to see what they can do with the team. But you know the culture of South African football… we don’t have patience when it comes to coaches. We want results now and it’s the nature of supporters. We expect a lot, but I don’t think they have had enough time in the coaching seat for us to judge them fully yet. It’s still early to judge, so I think they should be given the season. For me, I think you should judge coaches on the entire season. That way, you have pre-season, you have the performances and then at the end of that, you can tell if someone has done enough. It’s in the second season where I feel you can judge and see what they can do. I don’t judge the first season and I am saying this from experience. When we had Ruud Krol as the coach, the first season was not ideal. Supporters were talking and they were not patient, as usual. But he persevered that season. By the time he left after three seasons, we had won the league title. And even the coaches who came after that, the team was already set. So, for me, I say the same should be done, especially for local coaches. They need more time. I think it becomes easier to discard local coaches because maybe they are not expensive, you know what I mean? With overseas coaches, maybe they are given longer time in the job sometimes because of the expense and it will cost the team more when they part ways with the coach. They don’t usually come cheap. So, I feel the coaches at Pirates need to be given the season to see if they can build something. They should be given the room, cooperation and support from management, of course, to do the job. I say they should be given the time to lay the foundation. I don’t think we can look at whether they have done enough just yet. We can judge them in the second season. I don’t think they are a unit quite yet. I think Pirates currently relies on certain individuals who bring that quality, like Vincent Pule and a few others. They need a unit, and you want that unit to function without problems. It has not happened for Pirates yet. That’s why I say let’s see what the coaches can bring.”