Orlando Pirates coach José Riveiro says the pressure has been on him since day one at the club, and they will not stop chasing Mamelodi Sundowns for the Betway Premiership title this season.

Pirates, who finished runners-up twice in the last two seasons, kept the pressure on Sundowns by edging out Sekhukhune United 2-1 at Old Peter Mokaba Stadium on Wednesday night.

Meanwhile, Sundowns, who have won the league title for the past seven seasons, thumped SuperSport United in the Tshwane Derby on Wednesday.

Pirates moved to 33 points after 13 matches, six points behind Sundowns, who are on 39 points, having played one more game than the Soweto giants.

Sundowns and Pirates will meet in a top-of-the-table clash at a sold-out Loftus Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

“It’s been the same pressure since day one, since I arrived here to coach Pirates,” said Riveiro.

“I’m coaching Pirates, a champion-winning team. Everyone expects us to improve the club’s history and win titles.

“We are trying. We are having a fantastic start. It’s February, but we are still talking about the beginning of the league because this was only our 13th game.

“At the same time, we are fighting with good teams, one of which is an excellent team, champions for the last seven years.

“Even though we’ve had an excellent start to the season, we are still some points behind. But we are not going to stop; we are going to keep fighting and performing. Hopefully, we will have enough luck every week to get the results.

“Like I said, the pressure has been the same since day one; there is nothing different this season. It is true that the team is currently giving people more reason to believe we can do it, and that is very good news. But there is no difference in terms of responsibility. We all feel part of this team.”

Pirates suffered a major blow during the game when defender Thabiso Sesane was taken off in the 18th minute, and it is highly unlikely he will play against Sundowns on Saturday.

Sesane, known as Pepe, has been one of Pirates’ outstanding players at the back in the absence of Olisa Ndah.

Pepe was seen walking gingerly after the game with the aid of crutches and wearing a moon boot. He was replaced by Thapelo Xoki, and Riveiro admitted they felt his impact on the game.

“Obviously, it is not frequent that you have to change one of your centre-backs so early in the game,” he said.

“It was also difficult for Thapelo to come on from the bench without time to warm up, but I think he did a good job. We felt that it was not an easy situation for Thabiso because he didn’t look good at that moment. But let’s see how serious it is.

“But I think the team managed to continue with the same game plan, not changing too many things, and that is one of the strengths of this team. It matters, but it doesn’t matter who is playing because the team is used to finding a way to play our football.”