Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has stressed the importance of maintaining the winning standards and hunger that defined the club’s success last season as they aim to make a strong start to the new campaign.

The Buccaneers will defend their Betway Premiership title when they take on newly-promoted side Milford FC at the Orlando Amstel Arena in Soweto.

Pirates are hoping for a positive start to the 2026-27 season as the defending champions against an unpredictable side.

Ouaddou expects a stern examination from newly promoted Milford FC in his first Betway Premiership match in charge but insists his side is ready for the challenge.

“A recently promoted team always has this passion, this motivation to be in the big league,” said Ouaddou.

“I guess they have a very good team spirit if they managed to reach this level. So, it’s what we tried to work on in Spain.

“We worked on many combinations, a lot of different profiles in the middle, trying to see.

“I think we can have a good answer this weekend. For us it will be very important to keep the good principles, all the values that helped us last season to be successful and of course to continue to work to improve certain areas where we have to show quickly the superiority and to set the tone and to show that we are still starving of victories and titles.”