Tinkler Targets Top Four Finish In Betway Premiership
Sekhukhune United coach Eric Tinkler says that their objective this season is to compete in the top four of the Betway Premiership.
Babina Noko kicked off the 2025/26 campaign with a good start, winning all of their first three matches to sit at the top of the table with nine points.
However, Sekhukhune got knocked out of the two-leg MTN8 semi-final by Stellenbosch FC on a 3-1 aggregate over the weekend. This was their first debut in the semi-final for this tournament.
“Yes, we’ve had a very, very good start to the season,” said Tinkler.
“As I said before, the character that the team has shown since the first game against TS Galaxy has been extremely positive. The results we achieved in the league are very, very positive, and we’re going to stay in our lane. We’re going to keep doing what we’re doing. There are still a lot of things that I believe we can get better at. I’m not going to put the cart in front of the horse.
“There’s still a lot of work to do, and we’re here to try and compete in the top four. That is our purpose, that is our objective, that is the mandate that we have, and that is what we will try and do,” Barker stated.
Tinkler has complained about the tight schedule, highlighting the fatigue amongst the players and calling for a break for both the players and the technical staff.
“I think it’s just part of the game. That’s when you get called up; it’s obviously you want to represent your country and play for them, and that should motivate you more when you do get that opportunity.
“But we want to try and use the FIFA break as an opportunity to rest some players because, as I said, the fatigue is very, very high. I’ve got more than half the starting lineup that played all 90 minutes in the past six games; that fatigue is going to be there, but a lot of times people think when I talk about fatigue, it has to do with fitness, no, it’s not. It’s the mind that’s fatigued, the pressure, every game there’s pressure.
“They need a little bit of time just to recover from that. We don’t have the opportunity to do it now because we have AmaZulu on Wednesday, and then we have Durban City on Saturday, and then I want them to have a break, they need the break, not only them, the technical staff needs the break,” Tinkler added.
Sekhukhune will host AmaZulu at Peter Mokaba Stadium on Wednesday.
