Orlando Pirates captain Innocent Maela has shed light into how the squad has reacted to the news of head coach Jose Riveiro's imminent exit.
The well-kept secret of Riveiro not continuing in his Pirates past his third year is now out, after the club dropped the bombshell on their fans last week.
The players were as numb with shock when the news was first delivered to them.
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After all, the Spaniard, who joined in July 2022 on a three-year deal, had transformed the outfit into bonafide cup specialists, delivering all of five trophies.
His charges have a chance to gift their coach the grandest gift of all in the form of the coveted CAF Champions League title - a crown yet to be bestowed on a South African team since 2016 when Mamelodi Sundowns ascended the podium under Pitso Mosimane.
Standing between them and a spot in the last four of the competition is MC Alger, whom they meet in the second leg of their quarterfinal fixture at Orlando Stadium on Wednesday.
Bucs won the first leg 1-0 in Algeria.
"I think we had our discussions, we had our meetings and we all decided that it's time we put all our attention and focus on the competitions that we still need to compete in.
"We believe the time will come for all those moments, but I mean, for now, from the players' side, we need to focus and put all our attention into applying ourselves."
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Pirates are also in the semi-finals of the Nedbank Cup and still relevant in the conversation about the destination of the Betway Premiership.
