Ambitious Eric Tinkler sets sights on silverware for Sekhukhune United

Eric Tinkler is an ambitious coach who wants to instill that trait in his Sekhukhune United players and challenge for silverware during his tenure at the club.

The coach is in his first full season at Sekhukhune, having arrived earlier this year after taking over the reins from Lehlohonolo Seema.

The former Bafana Bafana midfielder hit the ground running despite not having a pre-season with the team, leading them to a fourth-place finish in the Betway Premiership.

Now, with Tinkler having recently completed a full pre-season with the team, expectations are high for him to win the club’s first silverware since their promotion in 2022.

The 55-year-old coach is more than capable of winning trophies, having earned such accolades at former clubs, the relegated Cape Town City and the now-defunct SuperSport United.

“The chairman (Simon Malatji) has trusted me to try and bring success to Sekhukhune United, and that’ll be my objective and mandate,” Tinkler said.

“The objectives will not be different from when I was at other clubs. I am an ambitious coach, and I want to win and achieve things. So, we need to work daily and try to achieve that.”

The immediate trophy Tinkler is expected to challenge for this season is the MTN8, with the team in the semi-finals against Stellenbosch over two legs.

The first leg will be played at the Danie Craven Stadium on Saturday (6pm kick-off), while the return leg is expected to be hosted in Polokwane in a week’s time.

Tinkler, however, is not putting all his eggs in the MTN8 basket, saying they have a balanced squad that can compete across all competitions.

“It has to — that’s the mandate,” said Tinkler of the team’s aspirations to challenge for silverware this season after an upward trajectory in recent years.

“I think we’ve assembled what we believe is a strong and competitive squad. We were busy during the transfer window bringing in quality players.

“Our objective is to try and finish in the top three. The chairman has a long-term vision for the club, which includes introducing youngsters into the team.”

Sekhukhune will head into the clash against Stellies as favourites, having won all three games — two in the league and one in the MTN8 — since the start of the season.

Tinkler is not reading too much into their bright start, though, as he believes there is still room for improvement. “I don’t think it’s an advantage,” Tinkler explained.

“Yes, we’ve won the three games, but I don’t think we have performed extremely well. “I think there’s still room for improvement, both defensively and offensively.

"As I stated, if you give a team like Stellenbosch chances, they’ll punish you.

“Our game last night (on Wednesday against TS Galaxy) is an example — we gave away possession far too easily. We had to grind out the result and get the win.

“We showed great character in all the games we played, but I don’t think we played exceptionally well. And that can come back to bite you.”

Tinkler has identified Stellies’ threats that they need to nullify to take a big advantage into the second leg at home.

“They are a team that defends extremely well,” said Tinkler of Stellies. “They are a team that likes to capitalise on mistakes as well.

“I am a possession-based coach, an attacking coach, and I want to go forward. When I do that, history tells you that we get punished a lot.

“Maybe the approach this weekend has to be slightly different. It’s not only me — they punish a lot of teams.

“If you look at most of the goals they score, they come from the transition phase. So that’s something they are really good at.”