The former Hamburger SV manager lauded the Bafana Bafana international despite having snubbed him over the weekend
Orlando Pirates head coach Josef Zinnbauer has explained why Thembinkosi Lorch did not feature in their recent clash with Cape Town City.
The reigning PSL Footballer of the Year was a noticeable absentee from the Bucs starting line-up against Cape Town City in the MTN8 quarter-final match on Saturday.
Zinnbauer opted for new signings Terrence Dzvukamanja and Deon Hotto as the Buccaneers secured a hard-fought 1-0 win over the Citizens at Orlando Stadium.
The German tactician indicated he has depth in his squad so he can afford to drop Lorch, who was an unused substitute against City.
“Lorch is a player you know who has quality but we made another decision [not to play him] and maybe next game, maybe he’s on the bench, maybe he’s in [the starting line-up],” Zinnbauer told the media.
“We have top quality in this squad and all players have to work and this season we have [more options], we can improve with having two players in each position.
“We’ve improved this with all the new players which means the old players have to work and the new players [to get into the team].”
Lorch has seen his form dip at Pirates since his breakthrough season (2018/19) in which he scored 15 goals in 38 matches across all competitions and he was named PSL Footballer of the Year.
The 27-year-old attacker then endured a poor 2019/20 campaign as he netted just three goals in 26 matches across all competitions.
Zinnbauer refused to promise that Lorch will start when the Buccaneers take on AmaZulu FC in their maiden PSL game of the new 2020/21 season on Saturday.
“Maybe against [AmaZulu] we’ll need another player in that position or we change the system a little bit. We know who Lorch is and his quality,” he added.
“We need his quality, and also on the other side of the bench we have other quality players who didn’t play so that’s good for us.”
The clash between AmaZulu and Pirates will be played at Jonsson Kings Park Stadium in Durban.
Pirates could face their former players Augustine Mulenga and Luvuyo Memela, who recently joined Usuthu after being released by the Soweto giants.
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