Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro gave an uncompromising assessment of youngster Relebohile Ratomo after he scored on his first start against Royal AM.
With one eye in the Nedbank Cup semi-final Soweto derby against Kaizer Chiefs over the weekend, Pirates made seven changes against Royal AM on Wednesday, that included Ratomo making his first start at the age of 17.
The Buccaneers' Diski Challenge star marked his first start with a goal that deflected off Elias Pelembe early in the second stanza but former Pirates player Menzi Masuku denied the Soweto giants their seventh straight win, as he netted the equaliser for Thwihli Thwahla in stoppage time.
Read: Pirates Fringe Players Earn Praise From Riveiro
Riveiro did not want to entertain questions of giving Ratomo 'a chance' and says he played him because he's ready and suggested his start against Royal AM was not a handout because they made seven changes.
"Rele is a Pirates player, he's been with us and he's been in our mind, under control the whole season," Riveiro said in a press conference.
"He's having his development programme as a young player, a youngster that he is but nowadays…I have nothing to say about his performance.
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"The guy was talking on the field and if I play Rele in the starting eleven (against Royal AM) and understanding how important the game was for us, I'm not here to give chances to the players, I'm here to win games," he said.
"And help the team win games and Rele was on the field to help us win the game, not to get a chance. I'm not thinking about that. If the player is ready is ready. If it's the first time he plays it's anecdotic," he insisted.
The Spanish tactician continued and said that he was happy with the performance of his charges, although he understands the difficulties of making so many changes.
"I'm very happy with the performance of the guys (against Royal AM) even though the result is not good," he went on.
"It's easier to say 'I'm happy with the performance' when you win and even sometimes it's not totally true but (against Royal AM) they did everything, understanding the difficulties of the matter, when you change seven players in the starting eleven, it's difficult to perform," he added.
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