Following Zakhele Lepasa’s move to SuperSport United, Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro has given reasons why he had to release the striker.
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Riveiro said it has been difficult to give players the game time they deserve, especially at Pirates, where there is a lot of competition for the starting line-up.
However, the Bucs coach praised Lepasa’s decision to go on loan to revive him. And Riveiro hopes the 26-year-old will get more playing time at Matsantsa and says he is a good player.
“Well, first of all I would like to congratulate Zakhele. He is a very good person and a very good football player, said Riveiro.
“As I said before, it is a competitive environment. We have 36 players in the squad and there is no possibility to guarantee minutes for anyone. I know that not only Zakes, maybe other players decide that they should play more,” said the Pirates coach.
“I hope Zakhele can show the type of player he is at SuperSport. What more can I say, this is a normal thing in football especially when we are talking about a big and quality squad like this (Pirates). It is difficult to give players what they want.
A loan move to SuperSport saw Lepasa join his third club since his career began at Pirates. His first time away from Pirates was at Stellenbosch FC, before TS Galaxy asked for his services and now he is at Matsatsantsa.
With Lepasa gone, as well as Kwame Peprah, who is on loan at Maritzburg United, Riveiro now has Kermit Erasmus, Terrence Dzvukamanja, Evidence Magopa, Ndumiso Mabena and new signing Soualibou Marou to pick from to get goals for the team.
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Bucs host Mamelodi Sundowns in the DStv Premiership at the Orlando Stadium on Saturday, and it will be interesting to see who Riveiro will be trusted to lead the attack.