Tinkler faces tough opener
Michaelson Gumede
Eric Tinkler (above) will be hoping to steer his side into the quarterfinals of the Caf Confederation Cup when they host Gabon side CF Mounana in a battle for three points in his maiden match in charge of SuperSport United at Lucas Moripe Stadium today.
The matter is not entirely in their hands as Matsatsantsa are hanging by a thread with their seven points in Group D. Defending champions Democratic Republic of Congo’s TP Mazembe and Horoya AC from Guinea, are both tied on nine. Tinkler’s men need Mazembe to beat or draw with Horoya if they are to advance to the knockout stages.
“We need to try and collect the three points and we will be watching what is happening with Horoya and TP Mazembe. Hopefully the result there will take us through to the quarterfinals,” Tinkler said.
“It is going to be a tough ask for us, but I definitely believe that we have a good enough squad to go all the way.”
The mentor inherits SuperSport from Stuart Baxter after the latter returned to Bafana Bafana for a second stint. But he admits that he has had very little time to assess the team ahead of the tie.
“I came in during the last couple of days. I will not be making big changes in terms of how we approach the game. Once we get through this obstacle, we can start implementing certain things that I believe are important,” said Tinkler.