Tinkler eager to go all the way
Coach wants United to show Africain no respect
SuperSport United coach Eric Tinkler will look to draw inspiration from Bafana Bafana’s 1996 Afcon triumph as he prepares his troops for the CAF Confederation Cup semifinal clash against Club Africain.
Matsatsantsa will take on the Tunisian side in the semifinal first leg at the Lucas Moripe Stadium on Sunday afternoon (3pm).
The former Bafana holding midfielder – who won the Afcon title more than 20 years ago as a player – has set his sights on a second Confederation Cup final after taking Orlando Pirates all the way in 2015.
Tinkler has spent the last few days preparing his players mentally not to get intimated by the North Africans.
“The North Africans carry a certain amount of arrogance and that’s what we gave them. We showed that we can be equally as cocky and arrogant,” Tinkler said yesterday.
“I told my players not to play with fear because it is not going to get us anywhere.
“As a team we have the belief and confidence that we can compete against the best.”
Tinkler said he has slept less than 16 hours this week preparing his team for the match which had a last-minute date change as it was initially scheduled for tomorrow.
“It was only on Sunday that we knew our opponents so we have had very little time to prepare because we did not know who we would play,” he said.
“I haven’t been getting much sleep. I have only slept four hours max each day and I am usually up at 5.30am.
“It’s just who I am. I try to be as methodical as possible.”
The former Pirates and Cape Town City mentor wants his players to be wary of being put off their game by the aggressive style of their opponents. On the tie being moved to Sunday, he said: “I don’t want to comment on that.
“In African football you can’t be about complaining and being a crybaby.
“It’s no use moaning about it. We are just focused on winning the match.”