Ouaddou reveals what Sebastian Pedersen must improve to shine at Orlando Pirates

Pedersen finally made his long-awaited debut for the Buccaneers last weekend, coming off the bench in their 1-0 MTN8 semi-final first-leg victory over Sekhukhune United at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium.

The 24-year-old replaced Yanela Mbuthuma in the 65th minute as Deon Hotto's goal handed Pirates a narrow advantage ahead of the return leg.

While Ouaddou was impressed by Pedersen's movement and technical ability, the Pirates coach believes the striker still has considerable work to do before he reaches the physical level required by his system.

"He is clever in the game. He is going into the spaces that we want to find him. He can find the deep… We are able to find him in the pocket," Ouaddou said.

"His technique quality is very interesting. I am sure that he is really going to help the team."

However, the coach noticed a clear weakness during Pedersen's brief appearance, admitting that the striker struggled physically after around 15 minutes on the pitch.

Ouaddou believes improving that aspect of his game will allow Pedersen to make a bigger impact for the Soweto giants.

"But, like I said in the previous press conference, the basics in football, even if you have such quality, you need good preparation," he said.

"You need to be ready physically, and you can see today that after 15 minutes, he was short physically."

The coach insists there is no doubt about Pedersen's ability, but the striker must now put in the work on the training ground to meet the demands of Pirates' playing style.

"We will keep working with him in order to bring him to the high level of fitness that I want for my game model," Ouaddou added.

"He still needs to increase the physical work to be able to shine and show us his quality because he has quality."

Pedersen could get another opportunity to build his match fitness when Pirates host Sekhukhune in a Betway Premiership encounter at the Orlando Amstel Arena on Tuesday.

The Buccaneers will then return their attention to the MTN8, where they need only avoid defeat in the second leg to secure a place in a fifth consecutive final.