Playing teams from abroad helps us test ourselves – Erasmus

Having laid a foundation last season by winning two titles, Orlando Pirates striker Kermit Erasmus wants his side to take the experience of playing different teams from abroad and use it in the DStv Premiership next season.

The Buccaneers are in camp in Spain to continue with their pre-season and will face Maccabi Tel Aviv on Wednesday before taking on Independiente del Valle on Saturday and will cap off their Spanish tour when they face UD Las Palmas on July 19.

And Erasmus hopes this will help them to remain consistent throughout the season.

“We are here for work. The first day has been good just to get the feel of what the environment is like and the conditions,” Erasmus said on the club's social media accounts on Tuesday.

“It has been good, so far the training has been going well, so we are looking forward to it. It is a great experience not only for myself but everybody. It’s great that we have to experience and play different teams from abroad to test ourselves and see how far and close we are to getting to the next level.

“It is all about improving and being consistent throughout the season and that’s what we are trying to build. We laid a good foundation last season, so this is a great base for us to continue going.

Meanwhile, the Buccaneers' new signing, Sephelo Baloni, plans to use this Spanish tour to help improve his game and is pleased that the team has welcomed him well.

“The team has welcomed me well with warm hands, the coaches are giving us some tactics to learn more and to improve as a player and individually,” Baloni said.

“Going forward, I will improve a lot because I still need to improve as a player. There are some things I need to tick and work on, so I can say I’m happy to be here.”