Orlando Piratesâ?? new coach Ali Akan has signed up four new players in his bid to strengthen the team.
They are defender George Tsamaseb from Ramblers; Life Fighters midfielder Milton Nauseb, who is the younger brother of Brave Warriors midfielder Robert Nauseb; Chief Santos midfielder Ben Ben Law; and Oshakati City midfielder Chepela Chepela.
Akan said they were not big name players, but that he was satisfied that they were good signings.
â??I am happy with them because I know their capacity. They are all good players, and although they are not big name players, I believe that I can build a strong team at Pirates,â? he said.
Akan needs time
Akan recently replaced Brian Isaacs as head coach at Pirates, but had a disastrous start when they lost both their home matches to Oshakati City and Golden Bees.
Akan said it was a bad start but he needed time to turn things around.
â??Iâ??m the coach, not a witchdoctor and I cannot change things around immediately. I know the supporters are angry and no ones happy here, but before me the damage was already done. But itâ??s still early in the league and a lot can be done over the next 14 matches,â? he said.
Akan said his players needed time to adapt to his new style of coaching.
â??They need time to adapt to my methods and this cannot happen overnight. Itâ??s still very early now, but I think we should be ready by the end of the month when we take on Tigers in the NFA Cup,â? he said.
Akan admitted that the loss off Piratesâ?? inspirational midfielder Riaan Cloete to Ramblers was a blow for the club.
â??Riaan is a good player and we will miss him. But soccer is a business â?? he was offered a contract which he accepted â?? and we canâ??t do anything about it. Besides being a good player, he is also a nice guy and its unfortunate that he has left us,â? Akan said.