With Orlando Pirates expected to provide an update on the coach to lead the team for the rest of the 2021/22 season, indications are that Mandla Ncikazi is in a favourable position to take charge of the team.
Pirates have parted ways with Josef Zinnbauer, after the German mentor tendered his resignation due to family reasons, as confirmed by the club on Monday.
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As reported in edition 1234 of Soccer Laduma, the Buccaneers have had a coaching succession plan in place for when the club would decide to make a change in the technical team, as Zinnbauer entered the new season under too much pressure to deliver the results.
Sources close to Bucs had told the Siya crew that although the Soweto giants committed to backing Zinnbauer going into the new season, the team’s performances under the German’s mentorship would be placed under the microscope from the very first game.
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Following Pirates’ 2-1 loss against Swallows in the MTN8 on the weekend, the coach decided it was the right time for him to go home to be closer to his family after being away from them for two years.
As reported by the Siya crew, although Ncikazi was brought in as a second assistant when he joined the club from Golden Arrows, a Siya source explained that the 2020/21 Coach of the Season nominee was brought on board to add value to the technical team and form part of their succession plan, should the need arise.
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Pirates are believed to be confident that Ncikazi is ideally placed to take on the head coach position should a need for him to step up arise, having proven his worth at Abafana Bes’thende after taking over from Steve Komphela last season.
Indications are that Ncikazi is being seriously considered for the head coach role to succeed Zinnbauer as the Buccaneers will be working on finalising their technical team in the coming days.
Ncikazi had an impressive season with Arrows last season, having guided the team to a record fourth-place finish in the league, and that impressed Pirates as he worked with limited resources at the KwaZulu-Natal outfit but managed to get the results.
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