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Tinkler, Manyama scoops awards

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Lebogang Manyama

Cape Town City captain Lebogang Manyama walked away with the Player of the Month for the months of October/November and December 2016 while his coach Eric Tinkler was named December’s Coach of the Month.

The awards were confirmed by the PSL on Monday with Manyama the big winner after netting seven goals during the two prize windows. SuperSport United boss Stuart Baxter was named the Coach of the Month for October/November.

‘From the outside, I wasn’t entirely a big fan of Lebo Manyama until the day I started coaching him,’ Tinkler said at the awards.

‘When I started working with him (Manyama), I realised that he was a quality player and a great leader.’

Despite flying high on the PSL table, Tinkler refuses, much as Leicester City boss Claudio Ranieri did last season, to call winning the title his side’s new goal.

‘We set ourselves smaller targets and we go game by game,’ confirmed Tinkler. ‘Having been there (Champions League) before, I would really love to go there … but we take it step by step.’

Manyama’s inspirational form has led many to consider him as front-runner for the Player of the Season, but the City captain is not getting ahead of himself.

‘I have heard people talking about that (the player of the season award) but my main focus is on the team winning things,’ Manyama told the media.

Manyama returned the compliment to his coaching, saying: ‘He (Tinkler) has played at the highest level and that really makes a big difference …’

City currently top of the PSL table with 31 points from 17 games, a point ahead of Chiefs and three ahead of SuperSport United and Bidvest Wits, who have two and three games in hand respectively.