While he opposes the idea of singling out individual players, Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro has revealed why Monnapule Saleng went from a peripheral figure to the club's top performer this season.
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A lot of eyebrows were raised when the Spanish tactician fielded Saleng for the first time against Mamelodi Sundowns in the MTN8 semi-final first leg, considering just how far from the first team he was at the time.
But four goals and a number of assists later, and it proves that Riveiro's gamble has paid off.
Ahead of what will be his first Soweto Derby, the coach has revealed why the former Orbit College speedster has performed astutely for the Buccaneers this season.
"Saleng, like any other player, is getting the benefit of the environment that he is around. Its easy to play when you are surrounded by good players like he is, so when one player is shining on the field, its because he is getting support in many different departments," he told members of the media at the Soweto Derby press conference on Thursday.
"It's nice to see the players shining and you will always put the players in the spotlight if they score goals or if they do nice tricks, but there are things that are much more important that happens before and after that to create a team with balance, with the capacity to protect one result and to consolidate the lead, etc," he added.
Riveiro says he hopes that Saleng is not the only player receiving plaudits for his performances and that a number of his Pirates teammates will chip in with goals of their own for the team.
"Hopefully, I would like to see that you put more players in the spotlight in the future because that means that some others are scoring goals as well," he concluded.
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