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Khoza to find solution abroad for Pirates

Cape Town - Orlando Pirates chairperson Irvin Khoza believes South Africa is short of homegrown coaches to fill the void left by Muhsin Ertugral. 

After the Buccaneers suffered a 6-1 defeat to SuperSport United at Mbombela Stadium on Tuesday, the former Ajax Cape Town coach offered to resign on live television.

Ertugral kept his word and e-mailed Khoza his resignation in the early hours of Wednesday morning, confirming that he will not return to his post.

The Buccaneers then called an emergency press conference to announce the news and Khoza admitted in his briefing that accepting a resignation is never an easy task especially in the manner which Ertugral left.

"Unfortunately for him, and us, he gave an indication (of his resignation) to the media before even discussing it with us," he added on Wednesday.

"Usually it's not easy for me to just accept a coach's resignation. I always give him support - you'll remember with Eric Tinkler and Roger de Sa, who went to four finals (and lost all of them) but we soldiered on.

"We think it's important to give coaches a chance (even) under difficult circumstances."

Pirates currently occupy seventh position on the Premiership standings following a run of seven games - two wins, four draws and a defeat.

Khoza now needs to find a solution to steer the Sea Robbers in the right direction after a slow start to the season, with the Pirates boss hinting at searching abroad instead of hiring a South African coach.

"There is no big pool of coaches in the country, so we are in short supply," said the Buccaneers chairperson.

Over the years Ertugral has called South Africa his second home since taking on the Kaizer Chiefs job in 1999 and has become somewhat accustomed to the culture.

Following his stint at Amakhosi, the Turk went on to mentor a number of clubs in the PSL, including Ajax Cape Town and Mpumalanga Black Aces (now Cape Town City).

In the meantime, Sport24 revealed that Augusto Palacios will take over as interim coach until further notice.

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