Eric Tinkler isn’t too fazed by SuperSport United’s current slump, citing Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns’ dip in form after their participation in the CAF competitions.
United have looked a shadow of themselves after going down in the CAF Confederation Cup final to TP Mazembe, but Tinkler says he is all too aware of this scenario, saying that no South African team has competed in the final of a continental competition and came back the same.
‘There is no team that has gone to the CAF final and come back the same locally,’ he told City Press.
‘Sundowns have gone through this and I have experienced it with [Orlando] Pirates, and I don’t think people really understand how difficult it is.
‘To get to the final is a long road and it takes its toll. We also reached the finals of the Nedbank Cup and MTN8 and never had a pre-season, or rested for that matter.
‘All these things were hard work and put a lot of pressure on the players. Normally, teams would have a five-week break to recover, regenerate and get away from the game.
‘Playing 10 games in 30 days is not on. You cannot expect players to bounce back every three days and give the same level of commitment and same energy. It is not easy.
‘That’s insane. Teams should not be put through that. You cannot expect the team to come out of that unscathed.
‘It is all about form and consistency. Chopping and changing does not help because there is no consistency. In our case, the number of injuries and suspensions did not help, either.
‘Morgan [Gould] is in, Morgan is out the next game. It is difficult to be consistent,’ he added.
Despite winning only once in their last ten PSL encounters, Tinkler is confident his side can get back on-par with two wins in their next two league games.
‘Two wins will take us there and I won’t be getting pressure about if I am going to resign.
‘We all assume home games should be easy, but, unfortunately, we are in a scrap and our morale and confidence is low.
‘I don’t even think about CAF again. I have experienced it twice and it has affected me. We need to rethink if we are going to be actively involved,’ he concluded.
SuperSport’s next assignment sees them face AmaZulu on Wednesday night with kickoff set for 19:30.
Photo: Gallo Images
