We want honours Khoza tells De Sa

De Sa has been handed a three year contract with reality pointing out that staying on until the last day of that agreement is no guarantee at Pirates – a club that has had a dozen coaches in as many years with De Sa the fourth in the last 18 months.

"In South Africa you don’t need to spell out the mandate because it is not in my interest but in the public and the media interest," argues Khoza.

"The mandate is there from the way we position our self as a club. The coach must give us the best. That is why in his contract there is nothing to say if you finish in number four you get this bonus and if you finish in second you get this bonus. For us it is a given. Even our players know that getting to quarter-finals or semi-finals is a given which is why we don’t even talk about bonuses for such or even finishing in top eight.

"At Pirates we don’t pay those bonuses because players know that why must we pay them bonuses when the team itself has given itself a chance to be in that position. We want honours. I know it is not easy but we must always thrive for that because the benchmark says if you are a top team that is where your aspirations must start," says Khoza.

"We gave him a three year contract and threw him in the deep end. The Pirates job is not easy but Roger has a big heart and with all the support that he has he will succeed. With the passion that he has he will be able to do it," adds Khoza.

De Sa adds that he is aware that he needs to keep the Bucs moving.

"When you are coaching a team that has been champions for two years in a row you just have to keep them going on. Like what the chairman said there is not a lot of changes that need to be done because a fantastic job has been done in the last two years. It is just a question of guiding the ship in the right direction," says De Sa.

With local coaches rarely put in charge at the big clubs Khoza adds that the appointment of De Sa should be a motivating influence.

"Well I hope it will be a motivating influence. I think it rests squarely on the shoulders of the coaches to compel us not to overlook them. Football coaching is a professional career and you have yourself to make sure that you are in demand. We want more of the local coaches to come up," says the Iron Duke.