Tinkler targets six out of six home wins

THE IRONY of Eric Tinkler’s desire to turn the Harry Gwala Stadium into a fortress will not be lost on the discerning soccer fan.

After all, Maritzburg United are looking like they cannot even buy a win at their home ground this season, the Team of Choice still looking for their first three points at their compact venue.

That Tinkler is now in charge is largely because his two predecessors failed to deliver and now, after losing his first game 1-0 at Bidvest Wits, he talks of making Harry Gwala a slaughterhouse. How so?

Out of necessity, Tinkler says. Maritzburg cannot have it any other way but to smash anyone who comes to visit.

“It is very important to win home games. There’s no time left. We’ve got six home games. In an ideal world, in order to save us from relegation, we need to win those six and basically we are there,” the former Cape Town City coach explained.

“So... that’s got to be our target. We have to make sure that we collect maximum points here at home and we make this a fortress. We have to make it difficult for opposition teams to come here. It is not something new because that’s what existed seven months ago. We need to try and resurrect that.”

They get the opportunity to do so tomorrow night when Polokwane City come to visit.

Tinkler is of the view that the team are doing all the right things on the pitch. They simply need to have self belief and the ball will roll their way.

“The problem is not tactical but it is mental. We need to change that and that’s what is important. That change can be something so minimal.

“We have to recapture what we had here last season (when the club reached the Nedbank Cup final and finished fourth in the league). Maritzburg were very difficult to break down and beat. We need to try and recapture that.”

And Tinkler has been working on doing just that in the build up to the Polokwane clash.

“At training what we’ve tried to do is to make sure that it is a happy environment but at the same time focusing on what our objectives are and tactically against Polokwane City. They are a good team going forward, a lot of pace, a lot of speed. We know Maluleke (Jabulani) can always be a threat in the set pieces. Today we’ve done an opposite analysis,” Tinkler explained.

Maritzburg are bottom of the Absa Premiership table with 11 points after 19 games.

In their remaining six matches at home they will host AmaZulu, Bloemfontein Celtic, Mamelodi Sundowns, Orlando Pirates and SuperSport United.

And if new boss Tinkler has his way, all those visitors will leave the Harry Gwala Stadium with their tails between their legs.