Orlando Pirates’ Mandla Ncikazi and Fadlu Davids under pressure to improve results

Johannesburg — Co-coaches Mandla Ncikazi and Fadlu Davids have a tough job ahead of them at Orlando Pirates.

The duo have to win all their remaining matches convincingly or they'll run the risk of being shown the exit door before they could even leave their mark at the club.

Pirates are not only one of the most successful teams in the land, but in Africa, having been crowned continental kings in 1995. And that's why joining the club, as a player or coach, comes with the expectations of delivering titles season in and season out.

But Ncikazi and Davids have done little to show that they can achieve that feat during their six-month at the helm. They’ve blown hot and cold in the league as they trail leaders Mamelodi Sundowns by 14 points, although they find themselves in second place.

For that inconsistency, Ncikazi has bemoaned injuries to key players for the better part of the first half of the term. But it seems that Pirates' management are having none of that as an excuse as they want the team to get results, convincingly!

“I was told in the meeting by the management that I complain too much,” Ncikazi said. “Let me try not, but I want to. I still don’t have the opportunity of having a full squad but it is better than it was before. (Vincent) Pule is still out though.”

Ncikazi and Davids have enjoyed little to no success as head coaches at their previous clubs. But at Pirates, they are afforded an opportunity to prove that when “great tacticians come together" they can achieve anything they set their minds on.

It’s only Sundowns that have recently proven that the concept of joint-coaches works. Manqoba Mngqithi and Rulani Mokwena — alongside senior coach Steve Komphela — led the team to their fourth successive