Tinkler hungry for success with African glory on his mind
A SLIP of the tongue from Eric Tinkler revealed the SuperSport United coach’s ambitious side as he chases a second trophy in two years when his team take on Cape Town City at Moses Mabhida on Saturday.
Tinkler guided Cape Town City to Telkom Knockout glory in December last year at the expense of Matsatsantsa a Pitori.
Now the Bafana Bafana legend will look to help SuperSport avenge that defeat in the MTN8 final against his former team.
Shortly after that, Tinkler will travel to Tunisia looking to make history with Matsatsantsa by taking them to the CAF Confederation Cup final for the first time in the club’s history.
That would make him the first South African coach to do so after achieving that feat with Orlando Pirates in 2015.
“SuperSport United is a big club in my mind,” Tinkler said.
“It’s a club that has been extremely successful since its foundation and has a very good squad of players. Coming here was an easy decision for me because it matched what I want, in terms of my career as an individual.
MOSES MABHIDA STADIUM PITCH UNDAMAGED
THE Moses Mabhida Stadium pitch was not damaged despite heavy rains and floods that affected the majority of KwaZulu-Natal on Tuesday. This was confirmed by stadium manager Vusi Mazibuko. “The pitch was not affected. The game will go on as planned,” he
“I want to succeed. I want to win things. I want to be in finals. That’s where you measure yourself as a person and as a coach. For me, it made all the sense in the world coming to a good club like this. I am living my dream. said in reference to Saturday’s night’s MTN8 final between SuperSport United and Cape Town City. On Tuesday, the PSL was forced to cancel a press conference to announce the Coach and Player of the Month due to the downpour that Mazibuko admitted has
“We had to hit the ground running. We’ve done that. We’ve reached two finals. Well, we’ve got to one final (the MTN8).
“I am already saying that we are going to get to another final (in the Confederation affected some sections of stadium. “One of the them (sections) is retail stores. Some of them are not operating today because water entered into their premises, but they will open tomorrow. There was a lot of water on the pitch but our drainage system worked well,” Mazibuko explained.
Cup). That’s the target.”
Tinkler speaks like a man who has earned his dues. And he has. From cutting his teeth at Bidvest Wits to coping in the high-pressured environment at Orlando Pirates, to building a team from scratch with the Citizens.
That experience will come in handy in his ambition to not only help SuperSport win the MTN8, but also in their bid for the league title that has eluded them for seven years.
“It’s been a long coaching career, obviously I had to start right at the bottom,” Tinkler said.
“If anything, that’s aided me as a coach to learn more about myself and improve my coaching experience and my managerial experience.
“I was given the opportunity to take teams on the interim basis, it happened at Wits and at Pirates. That gave me a chance to see where my strengths are.
“It took me 11 years to get here, made me mature as a person – especially having gone through the transition from player to coach at Wits … Everything I learned at Pirates and the pressure that comes with dealing with that helped me grow.”
Tinkler will come up against a coaching novice in Benni McCarthy as the two renew the rivalry that saw them almost come to blows in Durban during the 2011 Telkom Knockout final.