Share

‘WE WON’T GO DOWN!’

accreditation
Eric Tinkler coach of Maritzburg United  ~ Sydney Mahlangu/ BackpagePix
Eric Tinkler coach of Maritzburg United ~ Sydney Mahlangu/ BackpagePix

MARITZBURG United coach Eric Tinkler says his charges will need to play without fear to survive the sharp relegation axe hovering above their heads.

His side are bottom of the Absa Premiership table with 17 points, with only six games 7to conclude the season.

They trail Baroka FC and Chippa United by four points.

The KZN side have had a mammoth task in their past two games, as they lost to giants Kaizer Chiefs 1-0 and Mamelodi Sundowns, who beat them 2-1 in their last match.

But it doesn’t get any easier for Tinkler as their next three league games could decide whether they hold on to their top flight status or sink to the lower league.

  • Maritzburg will tackle the high riding Bloemfontein Celtic at Harry Gwala Stadium on 29 March. Celtic have put their financial strain on ice in a bid to cement their place in the top eight. Having lost their last league game 4-2 to title-chasers Bidvest Wits, Siwelele will come with guns blazing to avoid more slip-ups.
  • They will then take a long trip to Tembisa on 13 April where they will meet Highlands Park, who are also eyeing the top eight spot.
  • Maritzburg will also tackle Pirates on 24 April, who are desperate to win the league title as it’s their last chance of having a trophy in four years.

Said Tinkler: “All the games are difficult, but we have nothing to lose considering the situation we are in. The players need to treat our games with no fear. The Fifa break also gives us more time to prepare.”

He emphasised that players don’t need any motivation to get desired results: “They are professionals. This is their livelihood. They should not be here if they didn’t know what is at stake.”

Although Maritzburg survived relegation by the skin of their teeth in 2016, they might not be lucky this time around.

But Maritzburg boss Farook Kadodia thinks otherwise: “We have a good team capable of getting results and we will fight until the bitter end. We prefer to do the talking on the pitch, therefore we will keep quiet until the last league game.”

Kadodia could not deny nor confirm if he has given players incentives to ensure they achieve their target.

“Look, whether we have given players incentives or not, it’s not for the public. We don’t discuss these through the media.”

His club has undergone some serious challenges, where they had to part ways with their darling son Fadlu Davids, then they made a fatal mistake of luring in Muhsin Ertugral whirlpool.

Ertugral continued from where Davids has left – taking the team further down into the relegation.

Now Tinkler will have to take them out – but he has only six matches to prove his case, flanked by his assistant Vincent Kobola.

Get the best in Soccer, News and Lifestyle content with SNL24 PLUS
For 14 free days, you can have access to the best from Soccer Laduma, KickOff, Daily Sun, TrueLove and Drum. Thereafter you will be billed R29 per month. You can cancel anytime and if you cancel within 14 days you won't be billed.
Subscribe to SNL24 PLUS
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
What do you value most personally?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Earning tons of money
24% - 4 votes
Career Progression
6% - 1 votes
Work-Life balance
71% - 12 votes
Vote
Let us know what you think

Contact the People’s Paper with feedback on stories and how we could make dailysun.co.za even better!

Learn more
Do you have a story for the People’s Paper?

Click below to contact our news desk and share your story with SunLand!

Let's do it!