Orlando Pirates coach, Eric Tinkler, has admitted that he has struggled to give his players the necessary amount of rest due to Bucs' involvement in the CAF Confederation Cup.
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Pirates suffered a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Zamalek despite opening the scoring and dominating the majority of the game on Saturday. They have continued with their rigorous schedule in the continental competition while the other South African sides have had a rest.
With the 2015/16 season looming on the horizon, managing the amount of training and rest the players get has been a tricky task for Tinkler.
"This is a period which is supposed to be off-season. The players need to have a bit of a break. I couldn't give them too much of a break," the coach told Soccer Laduma.
"After the AS Kaloum game I gave them six days off, but in those six days Oupa Manyisa, Thabo Matlaba, Patrick Phungwayo and Thamsanqa Gabuza joined Bafana Bafana. They have hardly had any time off."
To deal with managing the demands of the continental competition, Tinkler has turned to science to ensure that players are ready and able to retain their fitness.
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"I spoke to some sports scientists to find out how much giving players six days off would affect them physically. I was informed that the player won't lose fitness in that time period. It's only a period of about 15 days when a player loses fitness," Tinkler said.
