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Cape Town - Orlando Pirates head coach Milutin Sredojevic admits the lack of urgency within his side in the 1-1 draw with Platinum Stars was concerning while Thabo Matlaba spoke of his new role.
The Buccaneers laboured to a stalemate with the winless Dikwena at the FNB Stadium on Wednesday night with Bongi Ntuli cancelling out Matlaba's goal early in the second-half.
With another registered point on the board, the Soweto giants remain three points behind league leaders Baroka and a point behind second-place Golden Arrows - after eight rounds of fixtures.
"I believe that with the eight games behind us (and) with the performance that we had, we deserved much more than the present 13 points," he said after the game.
"I want to say is that the players are stretching all human and sport limits to give their best.
"However football is not about what you deserve‚ it is about what you get. And we got what we got.
"I believe that we did not played to our standard (against Stars). Self-critically we need to look at ourselves.
"We are fully aware and looking to correct what we need to be much better going forward. There will be much more intensity‚ and other related issues," he added.
His newly appointed captain and goalscorer on the day, Matlaba, has been converted from full-back into a dynamic midfield role and the player himself says it's been a major adjustment.
However, the South Africa international says the Serbian tactician has given him a real sense of confidence by his recent comments on his ability to local media.
"It's difficult, to be honest, but at least the coach is giving me the confidence. I have been doing that even at training all the time," Matlaba said.
"That gave me a confidence when the coach said I'm the Philipp Lahm at the team, he gave me a lot of confidence.
"That's why you can see the way I play now, I have to perform and play for the team."
