Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro has insisted on rotating the same players throughout the season despite an opportunity to modify his squad in the January transfer window.

The Buccaneers completed their 27^th game in all competitions on Sunday afternoon, beating Richards Bay 3-1 to book a spot in the Nedbank Cup round of 16.

Despite boasting a stacked squad of 34 players registered at the beginning of the season, the Spanish gaffer has been consistently selecting his most trusted troops in several positions.

As a squad that has played the second most competitive games (second behind Stellenbosch) in the Premier Soccer League, Pirates face granted an opportunity to help ease the burden of their most utilized players with the market open in the new transfer window. 

Engaging the media after their match against Bay, Riveiro replied to the question on potential fatigue in his most capped players, jokingly saying, “I will rotate all of them in the derby (on Saturday). They are going to rotate.” 

However, the Spaniard further expanded on a serious note, explaining how the club’s medical and technical departments have dabbled into the ever-evolving sports science to find solutions to keeping his players fit at all times. 

“We try, it is one of the key things, we started in pre-season. I will say again, football is going in one direction and we are all exploring a new space. Players, coaches physios, fitness coaches, everybody,” explained Riveiro. 

He further elaborated saying, “Because this is new, like you said, it’s five competitions, how many games Richards Bay played this season? How many games have we played already this season and competitions? It’s a big difference so the planning, the way we train, the way we recover, it’s different but at the same time it’s unknown.”

Out of the 27 games played by the Soweto giants so far, Deon Hotto and Sipho Chaine have both participated in 26, Makhaula in 24, Relebohile Mofokeng in 25, and Thabiso Sesane in all 27. 

With these players being so key in the side, injury and fatigue remains a huge possibility. Their coach maintains that the technical staff doing a stellar job in keeping these important players on the pitch as all games are critical for the club. 

“So we try to find a way to keep our players ready to play, knowing that we have to play must-win games every three days. We don’t play games, we play games that we must win all the time, and the focus, results, and the health and support from the club in that department, we are doing a good job,” reiterated the Pirates coach. 

He continued to add, “The technical stuff, not myself, I have nothing to do there, all the credit is for the people surrounding the players and trying to help them to – like I said, you see a player like Deon or Makhaula or Sesane or Sibisi, Chaine and the rest, the ones who are playing more minutes, frequently in the starting eleven and that is the way hopefully we can continue like that.” 

As mentioned by the coach, the Nedbank Cup defending champions are never without much to lose in their games in all competitions as they shift their focus to an all to play for Soweto Derby against Kaizer Chiefs on Saturday.