Paulus Masehe dismisses pressure claims after three successive Pirates defeats

Sekhukhune United assistant coach Paulus Masehe has shrugged off the notion that the technical team spearheaded by head coach Cedric Kaze is under pressure after three defeats in a row to Orlando Pirates.

Babina Noko were eliminated from the MTN8 in the semi-final stage by the Buccaneers, who secured a commanding 4-0 win on aggregate to book their spot in a fifth consecutive final of the competition.

Furthermore, the Limpopo outfit succumbed to a 2-0 defeat to Abdeslam Ouaddou's men in a Betway Premiership clash sandwiched between the two-legged cup tie last Tuesday, meaning they conceded six goals without a response.

With the successive defeats leaving a lot to be desired and sparking question marks over the technical team's competence, the Sekhukhune second in command is adamant there's no immediate pressure from the club's hierarchy.

“Pressure is an everyday thing in our line of work. I cannot say that there's that much pressure on the coach, on the technical team, yes, we put pressure on ourselves because we want positive results all the time,” said Masehe.

"But we've been realistic, we're saying to ourselves that in the past three games we have learnt that Pirates was better with execution than us. But when it comes to the attitude, when it comes to the application, when it comes to the willingness to try, you can say that we are moving towards the right direction.

Masehe says they are not sounding alarm bells despite the string of defeats to Pirates, stating the 2026/27 campaign is still in the early stages, which will allow the team to regroup and bounce back throughout the course of the season.

“I believe that we're still early in the league to think about setbacks and mandates. And Of course, being in the semi-final of the MTN8, you'll want to then give yourself a full chance to get to the final and it wasn't to be,” added the 42-year-old tactician.

"There was no pressure whatsoever about us winning this cup, and also, in the league we understand there's still a whole lot of games to be played. It's a long marathon and if we then lose our heads and start thinking that there's a whole lot of damage here and there, then we're going to end up losing all that we have worked hard for up until now.

Sekhukhune will swing back to action with a Betway Premiership clash against TS Galaxy at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday, as they look to get back to winning ways.

Hlayisani Magoro

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Football journalist from South Africa covering African football news, exclusive stories and key events while sharing insights with passionate fans of the game.

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