'Still room for improvement' but Eric Tinkler's Sekhukhune United keep marching on

Sekhukhune United coach Eric Tinkler has downplayed the praise his team received from Bafana Bafana counterpart Hugo Broos, insisting there is still room for improvement from his troops.

Sekhukhune went into the FIFA break at the top of the Betway Premiership with 13 points, after winning four games and drawing one. It’s been a strong start to the season, as Sekhukhune aim to improve on their fourth-place finish last term. Things could have been even better had they not lost to Stellenbosch in the MTN8 semi-final.

Despite that minor setback, their performances have not gone unnoticed, with Broos lauding them as the team playing the best football in the top flight this season. Tinkler, however, disagreed.

“I don’t entirely agree,” said Tinkler, speaking after his team’s 2-0 win over Durban City at the New Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday night.“We gave the ball away cheaply. We put ourselves under pressure. So I think we still have a lot of room for improvement.”

While Broos was impressed by Babina Noko, he did not include any of their players in his 23-man Bafana squad — a decision Tinkler understands.

“No, I am not surprised because the national team is doing well,” he said.“Why would you chop and change players? You’ve got to give those players a chance to prove why they are doing well. Obviously, when the form drops, you have to look around. So, for me, it’s not a surprise. The squad has done extremely well.”

Tinkler remains grounded despite Sekhukhune’s early title charge, insisting anything can still happen as the league campaign progresses.

“I prefer to be the hunter,” he chuckled.“I think we are still hunters – it’s still early days. Right now, we are focused on ourselves, trying to collect as many points as we can. We go into every game with the mindset that we want to win, irrespective of who we play — whether it’s a big or small club.

“What was important for us was to get through the first eight games with positive results, and we did that. Would we have loved to be in the MTN8 final? Obviously. I think that’s the only disappointment, but I can’t fault the guys when it comes to our league performances.”

While striker Bradley Grobler recently reached the milestone of 100 goals in the PSL, Sekhukhune have not been as clinical as they could be. Still, Tinkler values efficiency and defensive solidity.

“Not really, I just want to win matches — whether it’s 1-0, it doesn’t matter to me,” he said.“But like I said, we’ve done well. We managed to score three against Orbit, and this evening, we got two.

“But it’s not always going to be that way. To win leagues, you sometimes have to play ugly football. Sundowns have shown that year in and year out — they’ll score in the last minute, win 1-0, and that’s enough. We have to face that reality.”