Maritzburg United head coach Eric Tinkler believes the club are in a position to achieve great things this season but shouldn’t get ahead of themselves.
The Team of Choice underwent a bit of a squad overhaul in the wake of losing midfielders Siphesihle Ndlovu and Fortune Makaringe to Orlando Pirates, but Tinkler has been impressed by how fast the players have bonded.
“You’ve got to remember that we have made a lot of changes to the team,” said Tinkler, according to IOL.
“There are a lot of new faces that we brought in. That’s probably the most important element, we have a lot more depth in our squad. It was always going to be difficult after losing Ndlovu and Makaringe. I wouldn’t say that we have replaced them, but we have found other players who bring us something different. The players have responded very, very well.”
Now United are in position to battle it out with Mamelodi Sundowns in the Telkom Knockout final on Saturday, while also setting their sights on a top-eight finish in the Absa Premiership.
“It would be a fantastic achievement (to finish in the top eight and win a Cup), what we have done in a space of six months would be a great turnaround,” added Tinkler.
“But we can’t celebrate anything. You’ve got to first do that. We haven’t done that. We’ve got a few games left. We’ve got the final and then (Kaizer) Chiefs at home, massive and hard games.
“Probably no-one gives us a chance against either team. We’ve got absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain. To win a Cup competition and then finish the year in the top eight would be great, and then we have a short break.”