Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro has discussed the dynamics around the attention and spotlight currently on Monnapule Saleng.
Saleng has been the talisman in the Buccaneers' turn of fortunes in front of goals, as he has scored four times in his last six games in all competitions. Given the attention and focus on the tricky left-footed attacker, Riveiro was asked if he has seen the need to have a heart to heart conversation with Saleng, so he does not get carried away or affected by the spotlight on him at the moment. "I don't think it's the case. He's just a boy who just wants to play football, who is having fun every morning at training and still having fun in the games," the Spanish mentor said in a pre-match press conference.
Read: Pirates Legend Offers Advice To Saleng
"That's why he's performing the way he's doing because he just wants to play football, that's it.
"Sometimes what you say is right, we need to protect the player in our way that they don't get confused (by attention from media and fans) and they don't get relaxed but I don't think it's the case (that the spotlight is getting to him) so far."
Riveiro went on to say that, actually, what is more important is to manage the emotions of the players who are not currently enjoying the attention. Saleng was part of a group that was not getting game time at Pirates, from the beginning of the season, as he only made his first start against Mamelodi Sundowns in the MTN8 semi-final first leg at the start of October, just after the international break.
"But we try to keep an eye on all of our players, usually it's more important to keep an eye on the players who are not playing or not shining or not getting the good feedback from the media or from the fans," he said.
"So far we try to keep an eye on all of them, because we need all of them sooner than later. We're talking about one boy (Saleng) who didn't participate in the first, how many? Seven, eight games in the league. "And now everybody is talking about him, so that's a process behind, we need to probably now pay more attention to the ones who are not in the spotlight, in this moment but maybe they will be in one week or in two months.
"So it's an interesting question but I don't think we need to do it (sit down with Saleng) in this moment," he added.
Saleng was surprisingly given his first start of the season in Pirates' first big game of the campaign against Sundowns.
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