Orlando Pirates coach Milutin Sredojevic believes veteran goalkeeper Wayne Sandilands has earned the right to be the Buccaneers’ first choice between the sticks.

The 34-year-old returned to the first team last month during their Caf Champions League encounter against Esperance, after missing 27 games in all competitions this season following his blunder against Highlands Park in the opening game of the league campaign.

However, Sandilands has more recently featured five consecutive times for the Buccaneers, and Sredojevic has backed the shot-stopper to continue in goal as the Soweto giants’ No 1 goalkeeper, while second choice Brilliant Khuzwayo remains in the MDC team.

‘There have been so many questions about Wayne Sandilands, but at the moment we have a situation that in the pecking order of our four goalkeepers he is the first in line,’ Sredojevic told the media.

‘So, I would say that we have purely selected him on merit. Yes, it was a risk putting him in the Soweto Derby with 90 000 people, where weight of expectations is high, but he proved his readiness.

‘He also went through the bridge of MultiChoice Diski Challenge (MDC), the same as we’re now doing with Brilliant Khuzwayo , and he needed to past that bridge before reaching the competitive level of the team.’

‘So, after making that mistake in the first match [of the season, against Highlands], it was a rehabilitation process that he passed through, and a goalkeeper of his experience went through everything with the support of the team and returned to where he is now.

‘How long he will be [first choice] is purely dependent on him and his colleagues, as well as our goalkeeper coach Andrew Sparkes.’