Former defender does not believe Orlando Pirates lost the final because of Riveiro's departure

Orlando Pirates missed the chance to end the current season with silverware, falling in the Cup final to their neighbors, Kaizer Chiefs. Many linked the defeat to the departure of head coach Jose Riveiro, but ex-Pirates defender Gavin Lane dismissed that theory.

Details: Lane noted that there have been occasions in the past when a coach left a team prematurely, but in those cases, the players actually became more motivated to win a trophy for their outgoing boss.

Quote: "I don't think the announcement of the coach's departure had any impact. I've played in matches where we knew it was the coach's last season. But you want to win trophies for the coach so that, when he leaves, he has a collection of medals.

When you lose all those cups, you have to pull yourselves together for the next season. If this had happened in our era, the players would have united. We always wanted to win, no matter what. That's how it should be. Maybe the players today don't play the way we used to," Lane said.

Reminder: There were also rumors about the departure of the Cup final's winning coach, Nasreddine Nabi, but the Kaizer Chiefs manager has firmly denied all speculation about his resignation.