Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro says they are keen to continue with their winning mentality in the Nedbank Cup and retain the trophy, with their encounter against Baroka FC in the round of 16 at Orlando Stadium on the horizon.

The Buccaneers will be determined to get back to winning ways after being on the receiving end of a 4-1 thrashing by Mamelodi Sundowns in the Betway Premiership last week, which stretched the gap between the two sides.

While they were handed a lifeline on the back of the demoralizing defeat, courtesy of TS Galaxy’s win over the defending champions on Tuesday, Riveiro insists it’s premature to think about lifting any silverware.

“I think it’s too early to talk about titles, we are going through the rest of the months, there’s 15 days of February, [then] March. We will be tested again in different competitions; the Champions League will come after the FIFA break in mid-March,” he said.

However, having won back-to-back Nedbank Cup titles, the Spanish mentor sees their clash against the Limpopo-based club on Saturday as an opportunity to progress to the next round and strengthen their chances of defending the crown.

“We are trying to look at every game like an opportunity to win and showcase the players’ talents and make sure that we are at the level that this project requires. This time is an opportunity to defend our last Nedbank Cup title, we are excited to continue the same winning roll in this competition,” added Riveiro.

Despite being upbeat about the Soweto giants’ chances of being crowned champions three times in a row, the 49-year-old tactician acknowledges that getting past Baroka won’t be an easy task and says they will give the Motsepe Foundation Championship outfit maximum respect.

“But again, it’s going to be a tough one. We had an opportunity to look at the opponents and it’s a serious team with a lot of quality upfront, with the capacity to give you a bad day if you’re not at the level the game requires and that’s where our focus is, in training,” continued the Bucs coach.

“We want to try to be better than Baroka on Saturday and try to respect them, then we go into the next [game] which is the league. As I said, there’s the Champions League soon, and again we are Orlando Pirates – it’s our obligation to fight for every result and the Nedbank won’t be any different.”