Vilakazi's Warning to Pirates: Bigger Squad Needed for Success

Benedict Vilakazi has thrown down a clear challenge to Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou: rethink your squad strategy, or risk burning out your team before the season’s biggest prizes are decided.

As Pirates juggle a place in the MTN8 final, the early rounds of the CAF Champions League and the grind of the Betway Premiership, the club legend believes the current group is simply too thin for what lies ahead.

“It’s very wise to have a bigger squad,” Vilakazi told FARPost, pointing straight at the growing injury list. “Look at the injuries that they are having right now.”

He didn’t have to dig far for examples. Makhehlene Makhaula sidelined. Thalente Mbatha dealing with a knee problem. Sihle Nduli “hurt badly”, as Vilakazi put it. Three players, three positions, and a clear warning sign for a team trying to fight on every front.

Trophies on the table, bodies on the line

Pirates are not just busy; they are stretched across almost every competition available to them.

• The Betway Premiership title race to contest.
• An MTN8 final looming against Mamelodi Sundowns.
• The Carling Knockout on the horizon.
• The Nedbank Cup still to come.
• And the CAF Champions League, with its brutal travel and unforgiving schedule.

For Vilakazi, that list alone ends the argument.

“So, it’s going to be important to have a bigger squad, especially when you look at the trophies that are on the table for the team,” he said. “You have the Betway Premiership, the MTN8, which they are in the final of now, the Carling that is coming in, the Nedbank Cup and the [CAF] Champions League.

“So, it’s very important to have a bigger squad so that you can rest other players. Maybe others will play in the Champions League, and others will play cup games.”

The message is simple: rotate or run them into the ground.

Travel, fatigue and the unseen damage

Vilakazi’s concern doesn’t stop at the number of matches. His biggest worry sits in the space between fixtures – on the planes, buses and long-haul journeys that define African club football.

“It’s important to have a bigger squad so that your players don’t get fatigued,” he stressed. “Also, travelling plays a part in fatigue. That is one thing a lot of people don’t think of. Travelling can also cause fatigue.”

It’s a point often overlooked. Fans see the 90 minutes. Coaches talk about tactics. But the body clock disruption, the delayed flights, the late arrivals back in Johannesburg – those are the hidden minutes that pile up in the legs.

Vilakazi wants “fresh legs” ready to step in immediately after those continental trips. Not just as emergency cover, but as a planned part of how Pirates manage the season.

Ouaddou’s stance under the spotlight

All of this clashes directly with Ouaddou’s preferred approach.

The Pirates coach has been clear: he wants a manageable dressing room. He recently outlined his ideal structure – 30 outfield players and four goalkeepers. Anything beyond that, he argued, starts to damage team chemistry and stifle individual development.

On paper, that sounds orderly. On the pitch, with injuries mounting and fixtures crammed together, it starts to look risky.

With the Betway Premiership tightening up and a final against Sundowns on the horizon, every selection call suddenly carries extra weight. Rest a star and drop points? Play him again and risk another injury? Those are the margins that define a season.

Vilakazi believes the solution lies in numbers.

“So that’s where you need a [big] pool of players,” he concluded, “so that those who went to CAF come two days before the other game, and at least you can add one or two to the team that is there and carry on with the team.”

The calendar won’t ease up. The travel won’t shorten. The only real variable now is whether Pirates back their coach’s lean model – or listen to a club legend warning that, without reinforcements, this campaign could ask more of the squad than their bodies can give.