No nostalgia to foul Tinkler in crunch final
SuperSport United coach Eric Tinkler says there will be no room for sentiment when he comes face to face with former team Cape Town City in the MTN8 final at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday.
Tinkler coached City in their first PSL campaign last season when he helped them to a thirdplace finish and also to Telkom Knockout success.
“There is no sentiment because if you are a professional‚ you move on. It is about SuperSport United and winning things for them now‚” the former Bafana Bafana defensive midfielder said as United prepared for a clash that has all the ingredients of a thriller.
“We are going there with the attitude and mentality that we want to win‚ and if that happens we will celebrate with humility. At the end of the match, we will still be friends regardless of what happened.”
Tinkler‚ now in his third full season as a PSL coach after his time at Orlando Pirates and Cape Town City‚ dismissed suggestions that he would have an edge over former Bafana teammate Benni McCarthy‚ who is in his first season as head coach of the Cape side.
“Stuart Baxter left a very good foundation here at SuperSport United and that is one of the main reasons why I chose to come here — because of the quality of personnel at the club‚” the SuperSport’s coach said.
“But at the same time, I am bringing something different and new to the club, and I have my own beliefs and philosophy.
“It will be the same at Cape Town City with Benni‚ who will have a different view on how he wants to play. I have seen that and it is fairly different to the way we were playing.
“He has changed the squad a little‚ but an advantage I have is that I know the strengths and weaknesses of the players who were in the City squad last season‚ and I will pass that information on to my players.”
Tinkler revealed that apart from long-term injuries to Onismor Bhasera and Thato Mokeke‚ he has a clean bill of health going into the final.
“Bhasera and Mokeke have been out for a while and we expect them to be back around mid-November.
“Everybody is fit and raring to go – the guys who came back from the national team are all good. Bradley Grobler had a bit of a knock on the ankle but he is fine. Morgan Gould‚ Clayton Daniels and Ronwen Williams are good.” /