Despite the criticism toward Mamelodi Sundowns in the Betway Premiership, Sekhukhune United head coach Eric Tinkler believes it's premature to write off the defending champions and that they've started like champions.
The Brazilians currently sit third in the league standings with 11 points from five matches, having won three games and drawn twice. While some observers question whether the Brazilians can maintain their dominance, Tinkler insists their early form remains very competitive.
Speaking exclusively to Soccer Laduma, Tinkler's view from the top is meaningful since his club, Sekhukhune are currently at the summit of the Premiership.
"I always put pressure on myself. Like I said, I demand a lot from myself, I demand a lot from my team. For me, pressure is important because pressure makes you more focused. Pressure makes you want to fight more if you want. I want to achieve more. But as you said, it's still early days, you know. Do I believe we can win the league? I think it's going to be a massive challenge because I still think Mamelodi Sundowns, everybody is talking about them having started badly. But they have got 11 points from five games. That's still a very, very good start. That's still league-winning points. I think people are already putting them out of the equation way too early," Tinkler told the Siya crew.
The former Cape Town City coach, who has guided Sekhukhune to a very impressive start this season, emphasized that consistency over 30 matches determines championship success, not early-season form alone.
Fine Margins in Football
Reflecting on his own team's encouraging beginning to the campaign, Tinkler highlighted how narrow the line between success and failure can be in football.
"Yeah, I think obviously there is a thin line between success and failure, and you know, we didn't start our first game very well against TS Galaxy, finding ourselves 2-0 down, but we showed character and ended up winning the game. I think that was positive. It could have gone the other way round. We could have ended up losing that game and not having the type of results in the league that we have. That's why I say, it's a fine line between success and failure. I think ultimately I have been very methodical in the way we train and the preparations, and that hasn't changed. That has been the same for the past 10 years."
The 55-year-old coach attributed Sekhukhune's positive response to maintaining consistent preparation methods throughout his coaching career.
"If anything, I have possibly changed, you know. A lot more experience, that type of thing, but in terms of my planning, my preparations, my work ethic, my expectations, my extremely demanding (ways), they always remain. So it is not like I am doing something different this season from what I had been doing. But I think, what happened this season is that players have responded in a positive way," Tinkler told Soccer Laduma.
Learning from Past Mistakes
When discussing his previous role at Cape Town City, Tinkler accepted responsibility for the club's relegation last season, revealing he had recently discussed the situation with his former chairman John Comitis.
"Of course I do. I was actually with John Comitis on Sunday. We were actually chatting and discussing what went wrong, you know, and I think obviously, probably, we took too many risks with younger players. And I think, also some of the senior players didn't respond the way we had hoped they would have responded, you know. Those are the lessons that you learn. Sometimes you will get it right, sometimes your recruitment, you will not always get it right when it comes to youth players, whether they are ready or not to make that jump into the PSL," Tinkler concluded.
The Next Challenge
Sekhukhune United will face a stern test of their early-season form when they travel to FNB Stadium to face second-placed Kaizer Chiefs on September 16th—a match that could provide further insight into both teams' credentials.
For Tinkler, the encounter represents another opportunity to prove that consistent preparation and demanding standards can yield positive results, regardless of external expectations or pressure.
