Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro has warned his side to keep their focus as they prepare to take on Hungry Lions in the last 16 of the Nedbank Cup.
Fresh from the heroics of their thrilling 3-2 Soweto derby victory over rivals Kaizer Chiefs, the Buccaneers must turn their attentions to Motsepe Foundation Championship side Hungry Lions.
Riveiro led his team to Nedbank Cup glory last season with a 2-1 win over Sekhukhune United at Loftus Versfeld.
They are currently in second place on the DStv Premiership standings, and the Bucs boss admits he has a challenge to refocus his side amid numerous distractions.
Riveiro said in the Sowetan: “The distractions after the derby are many. People are still talking about this and that, and it’s normal, but we need to already visualise ourselves playing the next game and put the derby behind us.
“The FIFA break is also coming and players will be going to national teams, so there are a lot of factors and elements that I suppose can be distractive and when you are distracted you don’t compete at your best.”
Riveiro added: “So it’s our responsibility to make sure they are on the right track by keeping them motivated and understand the responsibility for us on Saturday, because we want to be in the next round.
“We want to defend the trophy, so we must keep our feet on the ground.”