Players did not force Ertugral out, says Khoza

Cape Town - Orlando Pirates chairperson Irvin Khoza has dismissed reports citing player power as the reason behind Muhsin Ertugral's decision to resign as coach.

Khoza confirmed Ertugral's resignation following Pirates' 6-1 humiliation at the hands of SuperSport United, but denied that it came as a result of the influence of players.

"We are fortunate at Pirates that we have never experienced that," he told Sowetan Live.

"As soon as we see that happen you must know there is something wrong with those players.

"If you resort to player power we will say to the Minister or Speaker of Parliament, 'We have got a candidate here for politics - can you take him?'

"Because we don't have time for that. If we have a player arrive, who is 18 and when you hear him talk you think, 'No he cannot be 18, because this one cannot behave this way and he's getting involved with those people', then you identify the problem and deal with it decisively.

"Because if you leave it it's going to create a cancer that is going to destroy the team. And sometimes you'd rather let them go and start afresh - even if you don't have a team.

"But players must play for the right reasons and not engage in player power. More often than not it is players on a downslide who do. But Pirates have not experienced that for now and hopefully it won't happen in the future."

Khoza remained mum when asked about Ertugral's alleged temper issues, which is said to have played a part in the bust-up between the Turkish coach and Edwin Gyimah.

"The issue of the coach's temper obviously that is unconfirmed," he insisted. "That's why I can't conclude on the Gyimah issue and the (Brighton) Mhlongo issue.

"That's why we asked for an investigation to understand because we can't just say this is the reason. The players also - we can't just absolve them. There is also an issue on their side sometimes. Whether they come late‚ or they over-party or whatever.

"There are a lot of other factors from the players also. Sometimes the coach is frustrated because they are not responsive to instructions or expectations.

"There are too many factors. So right now I can't just talk, because I want to satisfy myself on the issues to conclude on what has been the effect causing the immediate resignation of the coach."

The Buccaneers return to action this weekend in a Telkom Knockout clash against Highlands Park on Saturday.

Kick off is at 20:00.