Mandla Ncikazi

The 56-year-old was initially the head of the table when Riveiro came in to take over as the head coach.

He has been his assistant throughout his tenure, and the few lessons and growth along during their successful stint both domestically and on the continent can only benefit the former Arrows coach.

He could be an ideal candidate as he offers continuity, having worked with a significant portion of the current squad for the past four years.

Rhulani Mokwena

Mokwena is a former Pirates interim coach, whose story with the club somehow always felt that it had been paused when he left to return to join Mosimane at Sundowns as an assistant a few seasons back.

It turned out to be a fruitful time, so much so that when Mosimane left for Egypt, Mokwena was promoted to be joint head coach with Mngqithi.

The 38-year-old would later be made the senior coach for the remainder of his stint with the club.

In his time with the Brazilians as co-coach and senior coach, he won four league titles, one MTN8 cup and Nedbank Cup, and the prized African Football League title.

Mokwena moved on to join Moroccan giants Wydad Athletic Club, and with the club having expectations similar to those of the big South African clubs, his position with the Moroccan outfit has always been under scrutiny.

So, a return to South Africa could not be out of the mix, even though he is still in the first year of a three-year contract.

Fadlu Davids

The former Maritzburg United coach (now known as Durban City) has been a part of Orlando Pirates as an assistant to Josef Zinnbauer and co-coach with Ncikazi.

Davids and Zinnbauer were also a team at Moroccan giants Raja Casablanca and Russian Premier League side Lokomotiv Moscow, with the South African deputising on both occasions.

He has since gone on to coach Tanzanian side Simba FC, and with the experience gained coaching a top-flight outfit that have won the Tanzanian Premier League on 22 occasions, he could also be in line to return to the PSL with the Buccaneers.

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Who will take the helm? Top five candidates to replace Jose Riveiro at Orlando Pirates