Ouaddou explains Pedersen delay at Pirates
Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has explained why new Nowergian striker Sebastian Pedersen is yet to make his official debut for the club.
Pedersen was announced by Pirates a month ago, raising excitement among supporters. Fans have even started performing Norway’s famous ‘rowing’ celebration. However, the Norwegian striker has not featured in an official match. Ouaddou says Pedersen needs more time to reach full fitness before being thrown into action.
“We are happy when we see his statistics from his previous clubs and see he has what we need in our game. If you look at last season in the Champions League, Pirates created the most scoring chances.“
“But the conversion rate was low, or poor, to put it right. We needed to find solutions. He is the man that the scouting department felt can help us.
“At the moment he is happy to have joined Pirates. We see a lot of happiness and excitement from him in training. “We can see that he definitely has the quality to finish, I did not need a month to see that he is a finisher.
“Now the question is on being able to put his qualities on display. But for him to show his quality, he needs to be fit. At the moment he is not at 100%.
“The fitness department is working closely with him to make sure that he is fully ready. And one area that is important, and I am very cautious about because I was once in it.”
Ouaddou says there is different dynamic when a player moves to a new country and it is not as easy as it may look from the outside.
“You know when you travel and go to a new environment in a new country there is a time of integration. There is stress associated with it because you have to eat differently, there are a lot of changes“.
“It is not only about ability, but it is mental as well. We will take time with him because we don’t want to risk injuries with him. Like the fans, I also want to see him on the pitch, but as a coach I can’t just throw him there in the fire because it might burn him.”
