Former AFCON winner Herve Renard has emerged the front-runner for the head coach job at South African Premier Soccer League club Orlando Pirates, although it is highly unlikely that the Frenchman will join the side for this season.
Pirates have increasingly come under pressure to get a new coach to try and change the team’s fortunes in the 2016/17 season.
The Pirates’ fans showed their displeasure with the team’s performance in an unruly way on the weekend, following the 6-0 loss for Augusto Palacios’ side against Mamelodi Sundowns.
Pirates’ chairman, Irvin Khoza, has promised that the club will appoint a new coach on Monday next week, but the chairman also revealed that the coach they had initiially identified is currently contracted to another club.
According to a source in the know, Renard could be the man Bucs had been hoping to rope in, as the club is planning for improvement in the team’s performances going forward.
While Pirates had hoped to have their man joining the team in January already, it turned out that their target would only be available at the end of May due to contractual obligations elsewhere.
Renard, who is an Africa Cup of Nations-winning coach, has been linked with Bucs for years now, since he won his first AFCON title with Zambia in 2012.
Following his success in Africa, the 48-year-old has been a sought-after coach by different clubs and national teams including the Black Stars of Ghana.