Nedbank Cup: Can Tinkler ease the pressure?
JOHANNESBURG: The motivation to win tomorrow’s Nedbank Cup final might be similar for Orlando Pirates coach Eric Tinkler and his SuperSport United counterpart Stuart Baxter – ending what has been a disappointing season on a good note. But what winning it will do for them going forward is different.
For Tinkler, it would ease the pressure that he has constantly felt in his first full season as head coach of Pirates, while it would be a good foundation for Baxter and his future in Pretoria.
Tinkler enjoyed a reprieve when he guided the Buccaneers to the CAF Confederation Cup final last year, but losing to Etoile du Sahel and the struggles that followed took him back to square one in trying to prove to “The Ghost” that he deserves to the top job.
Their passage to the Nedbank Cup final, eliminating the likes of bitter rivals Kaizer Chiefs and this season’s PSL champions Mamelodi Sundowns, has brought back the spirit that took the Sea Robbers to the final of the Confederation Cup.
“Getting to the final of the Confederation Cup is obviously the biggest achievement of my short career as head coach,” Tinkler said. “This (the Nedbank Cup final) comes second.
“In terms of what the result will mean for my future, I don’t think about that. I think only about winning the game. I will think about what will happen afterwards.”
What will happen for the winners is a chance to play in the Confederation Cup next year. But for Pirates to achieve that they have to overcome a SuperSport side who have dominated them at the Peter Mokaba Stadium.
Other than a good record at the Polokwane venue, Matsatsantsa will be motivated after having shown a great fighting spirit under Baxter, losing their tendency to drop their heads whenever things don’t go all their own way.
They came back from behind twice in this tournament, beating Mpumalanga Black Aces and the University of Pretoria en route to the final. Kaitano Tembo – United’s assistant coach who spoke on behalf of the club yesterday as Baxter was in hospital – is in a perfect position to talk about the transformation the former Chiefs boss has masterminded.
“The difference is that the current team is playing with more confidence and they have freedom to express themselves,” Tembo said. “We are a little bit more organised as well. We used to concede goals at critical phases of the game but at the moment we are the ones scoring in those moments.
“We are more focused. We are more consistent. We have the hunger to succeed. That’s why we have managed to come back from behind in those games to win them. You can see the determination that the players have shown.”
And this transformation has happened in the space of just four months, after Baxter took over from Gordon Igesund in January, making the bigger picture he is looking at start to take shape.
Winning tomorrow would make that picture look good, while success for the Buccaneers would certainly help Tinkler breath a little easier.
It will also return the Soweto giants to continental football, where they have unfinished business.