As he departs, former Orlando Pirates coach José Riveiro hopes the club will do everything in its power to protect the emerging talent.

Riveiro is revered for bringing five trophies during his three-year stint with the Soweto club, before his departure on Tuesday.

However, he’ll also be remembered for having faith in young players, which in turn has safeguarded the club’s future.

Pirates have had their fair share of “Cocomelons,” as football fans like to refer to the youngsters.

Relebohile Mofokeng (20), who’s now a regular in the Bafana Bafana team, is certainly the poster boy and shined under the Spaniard.

But there’s more that came through the ranks during Riveiro’s time: Mohau Nkota (20), Mbekezeli Mbokazi (19), Simphiwe Selepe (20), and more recently, Cemran Dansin (17).

Others who have stepped up but are a bit older include Siyabonga Ndlozi and Siyabonga Dladla, who are both 22, as well as Yanga Madiba (23).

Riveiro’s parting shot to the Pirates management is that the supporters and the new coach must back the boys for them to realise their full potential.

“They have to understand the type of players we have in the team, how young they are, and they must help them to have a bright future,” Riveiro stated.

“They must be patient with them; they have to be supportive with them as well as with the new coach. Whoever is coming is coming with the intention to help the team go to the next level, to help the team go forward, to help the players to become better players, and it’s important that the fans also have a decent amount of patience with him (new coach) because he’s going to need it.”

The Spaniard added that his stay with the Buccaneers was fulfilling.

“Regrets? No, I don’t have any regrets. I gave everything I have,” he said.

“I’m not perfect; I make mistakes in many different situations, but I did everything with heart. I did everything to the best of my capacity.”