Johannesburg — Bandile Shandu is relatively pleased with his maiden season at Orlando Pirates but has conceded there’s still a room for improvement for him and the club.
Signed from Maritzburg United at the end of the 2020/2021 season, Shandu made the right wingback position his own at Pirates last season.
So much so that he scored and created a handful of goals, which also saw him get a Bafana Bafana call-up from coach Hugo Broos.
Although his individual exploits caught the eyes of many pundits and the Ghost, Pirates still endured a relatively poor outing for their standards.
The Soweto giants lost out on all the trophies, including the CAF Confederation Cup after losing to RS Berkane in the final. They also finished sixth on the log.
The commencement of the new season next week Friday will present Pirates with an opportunity to start afresh. An opportunity that Shandu is willing to grab with both hands.
“I think every player wants to improve from last season. No matter how good or bad your season was, the most important thing is to improve,” Shandu said.
“I also want to improve. I want to assist more, help my teammates more and score more goals. Everything. But I can’t do everything without them.
“Even last season, all my goals, everything, the way I contributed, it was because they helped me to settle in. That just showed how good we are. We are like a brotherhood.”
After winning the MTN8 two seasons ago, Shandu and Co. watched rivals Sundowns in envy last season as they scooped all the domestic trophies, including the title.
But with a fresh start hovering at Pirates, including the appointment of new coach Jose Riveiro, Shandu says they can knock Sundowns off the perch next season.
“Defintitely (I think we are strong enough to challenge Sundowns). But Orlando Pirates has always been strong even before I joined the club,” Shandu said.
“That’s why we are one of the biggest clubs in Africa and always want to win trophies, together with our supporters. So, yes, we are looking very strong.”
In the midst of Pirates’ trophyless outing last season, the club decided against renewing the contract of interim co-coach Fadlu Davids, albeit retaining his peer Mandla Ncikazi.
The latter has since been demoted back to assistant coaching role that he assumed two seasons where he’ll work with Riveiro’s right-hand man Sergio Almenara.
So will the presence of the Ncikazi in the technical team bring about continuity from last season or will there be a new start under Riveiro going forward?
“There’ll always be a new start. We want to press the reset button and not draw too much on what happened last season. So, we’ve all pressed the reset button,” Shandu said.
“So for everyone at the club it’s a restart. We are aiming to contest in every platform and trophy that we’ll be competing in next season as well.”
Pirates’ new chapter will begin without club legend and captain Happy Jele, who left the Sea Robbers’ ship after making over 400 appearances.
Jele was offered a non-playing position when his contract came to an end last season. But he felt he still had a season or two in his tank before hanging up his boots.
“He was our pillar. He helped me, personally, a lot. He helped me settle well. I came to the club playing the position he played when he arrived in 2006,” Shandu said.
IOL Sport