Orlando Pirates coach Kjell Jonevret says they will go into the two Absa Premiership games against Bidvest Wits and Mamelodi Sundowns as underdogs respectively, despite their unbeaten streak in the league.

The Soweto giants are unbeaten in their last four consecutive league encounters, however their Swedish mentor insists that the encounters against the ‘best two teams’ in the league could serve as a baptism of fire.

‘Playing Wits is going to be a test for us,’ he told IOL. 

‘In our last four matches, we played against sides where everybody expected us to go out there and win. This time it is going to be different. We’ll be playing against probably one of the best two teams (Wits and Sundowns) in the league at the moment.

‘We are going into these two encounters as underdogs. It’s going to be interesting to see how we cope with the challenge of having to face them in such a short space of time. It’s going to be interesting to watch,’ he added.

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Jonevret also alluded to his side’s chances of securing a top-eight spot on the table, saying that it’s too early to tell.

‘You can’t be sure of anything. I was surprised to see Maritzburg United pull out a win against Cape Town City. It looks like it’s going to be a race between us and Arrows (for a place in the top eight). We have to win a few more games, we know that. But I can’t start worrying about that now.

‘We play Arrows in our last league fixture, and perhaps that encounter will serve as a decider in terms of who will secure a top eight finish. But my focus is centred on us going out there and playing a good brand of football against Wits (Thursday). I can’t start thinking too much about our league table now.

‘At training, I always say to them, ‘back to basics’, and immediately they know which areas they need to drop back and close. It’s a marathon, really, and we’ll continue to work on (the defensive play). Conceding has cost us a few points,’ he concluded.

Pirates face Wits at the Bidvest Stadium, on Thursday with kick-off set for 19:30.

Photo: Sydney Mahlangu /BackpagePix