Orlando Pirates coach Kjell Jonevret says it’s going to be a hard race to finish in the top eight in the Absa Premiership standings this season.

The Buccaneers recently secured their place in the last four of the Nedbank Cup, when they beat Bloemfontein Celtic 2-1 in extra time after Abbubaker Mobara and Thamsanqa Gabuza cancelled out an 87th-minute equaliser by Kabelo Mahlasela.

The Swede insists that his side cannot afford to drop any points, as it will dent their hopes of finishing in the top eight in the Absa Premiership standings ahead of their next clash against Baroka.

‘It’s going to be a hard race, because you can see it’s not a big difference from the top clubs to the club in the bottom in the last six/seven games,’ Jonevret told KickOff.com.

‘All the teams down there have to get the points to be not relegated. So it’s going to be tough and I’m a 100 percent sure about that.

‘It’s not easy to beat Highlands and SuperSport for example, and we know that it’s going to be tough. Even if we have a tight schedule, of course, it’s going to be tough. But nights like this can give us confidence, because there’s a lot of football [to play], but we’ve to keep on working.’

The Sea Robbers currently occupy ninth place in the Absa Premiership standings with 27 points, having won five out of 23 matches played so far this season, trailing eighth-placed Maritzburg United by two points.

Orlando Pirates will take on bottom of the table Baroka in an Absa Premiership encounter on Wednesday.

The match at the Orlando Stadium kicks off at 19:30.