Tinkler: I'm not a miracle maker

Eric Tinkler, head coach of Cape Town City chats to his players during the CAF Confederation Cup 2022/23 training session for Cape Town City at Cape Town Stadium in South Africa on 1 November 2022 © Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix

by Staff Reporter

Tuesday Nov 01, 2022. 16:00

Cape Town City head coach Eric Tinkler has bemoaned the fixture schedule ahead of his side’s CAF Confederation Cup tie against USM Alger.

The Citizens host the Algerian outfit in the first leg of the playoff round at the Cape Town Stadium on Wednesday before heading to Setif for the second leg seven days later.

It is a quick turnaround for South Africa’s teams as City faced Marumo Gallants in the DStv Premiership on Saturday, giving them both very little time to prepare for Africa’s secondary club competition.

Tinkler insists the situation is impossible as they bid to reach the group stages, saying: “There’s no time, there’s no preparation time. I can’t work miracles … I am not a miracle maker.

“If I’ve got one day to prepare for the game then I’ve got one day to prepare for the game. It’s a big game and normally you would like at least a week to get yourself prepared.”

The 52-year-old has expressed concern over City’s lack of consistency this season as they head into the midweek encounter having lost four of their last five games in all competitions.

“I am getting concerned with our inconsistency. You can’t be winning one week and not get the result the next week. Our mindset has to change. The mindset needs to change,” Tinkler stressed.

“You want to be involved in all these competitions, you have to change your mindset because if you have the mindset that we currently have, then I am sorry we are not going to cope in either [the league and the Confed Cup].

“It’s going to affect us in both because you have two days between games … you get to the group stages and that problem will continue, so the mindset must change. We must all realise that this is not easy.”