Can Rulani Mokwena steady the Bucs ship?

Orlando Pirates’ stand-in coach Rulani Mokwena has said he will not use the limited number of training sessions he has had as an excuse for the rocky start to his temporary tenure‚ which included Saturday’s debilitating exit from the Caf Champions League to Zambia’s Green Eagles.

The Buccaneer ship has hit rough seas and is taking on water‚ having suffered a cannon shot below the bow following the hasty departure, under bizarre circumstances (including apparently scarpering from a police warrant), of head coach Milutin Sredojevic.

Pirates will be desperate for a positive result as they host Lamontville Golden Arrows in the premiership at Orlando Stadium on Wednesday (kickoff 7.30pm).

The ambitions of Mokwena‚ one of SA’s brightest young coaching prospects‚ to have a shot at a head coaching post has been an open secret — but surely not in these circumstances.

Mokwena started with a 1-0 MTN8 quarterfinal defeat to Highlands Park the day after Sredojevic resigned‚ having had no training session to prep Bucs for his style of play and tweaks he would make to the gameplan.

Pirates would have had a rest day on the Sunday‚ then trained once on Monday‚ before last Tuesday’s goalless league draw against AmaZulu that appeared to steady the ship.

Then Bucs sailed back into the storm, unable to overcome a 1-0 away-leg deficit against Eagles by only managing a 1-1 draw at Orlando on Saturday.

Mokwena had just two more days’ training — Thursday and Friday — ahead of the Eagles clash.

“It's going to sound like excuses if I say that we haven’t had training sessions‚ we haven’t had time to put together the team‚” Mokwena said after the demoralising defeat.

“And the Buccaneers are not people of excuses. We are not the people who want to look at the negatives.

“Instead, we look for the positives‚ like the fact that we’ve had marginal games. And we try to improve from where we are and move forward.

“That’s the outlook I’ve always tried to have. I’m a very positive person.

“I try to find the positivity in all negative situations. And we just continue to soldier on‚ and make sure that we come out stronger.”

Mokwena might be reluctant to make excuses‚ but criticism does seem harsh given the bombshell sexual indecency case opened with the police against Sredojevic that surrounded the coach’s hasty departure‚ let alone the lack of training time the young stand-in boss has had.

Pirates have had a win‚ a draw and a loss from their three PSL matches.

Steve Komphela’s Arrows have two victories and a defeat, having won their last match 2-1 at home to Chippa United at Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium in Clermont on Saturday.