Orlando Pirates coach Milutin Sredojevic admitted that he is well aware of FC Platinum’s extra motivation as they look to showcase their talents against the Soweto giants.

The Sea Robbers will host the Zimbabwean side in an important Caf Champions League encounter on Friday night, where they will need nothing less than three points to keep their hopes alive of qualifying for the next round.

The teams played out to a 0-0 draw in Bulawayo in January with the Zimbabweans producing a spirited performance, and Sredojevic is expecting much of the same this time round.

‘We’re fully aware of the must-win task in front of us, and so we are entering into the match fully focused and concentrated, but very respectful towards our opposing team. 

‘Coach Norman Mapeza and his team are coming from a country that has an enormous number of talented players, and I do not need to go far back in my 19 years on the continent to remember how Zimbabwean teams have used the Caf interclub platform as an entrance to the South African league.

‘I just reminded myself of when I coached [Al-Hilal in the 2010 Caf Confederation Cup] against CAPS United, how afterwards Khama Billiat and Method Mwanjali came [to Ajax Cape Town and Mamelodi Sundowns respectively].

‘So, fully aware of that, we need to be mindful that they’ll come with an extreme amount of economical motivation to prove themselves – we respect that, but we give more self-respect.

‘We worked very hard to bring ourselves into a position to go to the quarter-finals, and we were in that position that would lead us to the next stage until the last match [against Esperance], and now it’s a case of, ”When the going gets tough, the tough gets going,” concluded the Serbian coach.