Eric Tinkler (Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix)
Maritzburg United coach, Eric Tinkler says his side have some psychological advantage over their KwaZulu-Natal rivals AmaZulu FC ahead on Friday night’s derby at Harry Gwala Stadium.
He said Usuthu’s desperate situation works against them as it forces them to go all out as they look to move away from the relegation places. AmaZulu are 14th, but one point above Black Leopards and Polokwane City behind them.
“It’s a derby, so it always brings a different element,” said Tinkler on Wednesday. “The players are always highly motivated for such games. These games are intense. But we, being at we need to dictate terms. Psychologically we have some advantage considering where they are in the league.
“But they want to get out of their situation and for that to happen they have to come here and perform and get a result. It is up to us to ensure we don’t allow that because we have our own targets for this season,” added Tinkler.
He said is team have been doing well but now need to have consistency. “The morale and confidence is there… now we have to remain grounded and have consistency in terms of our performances. We had a bit of a drop against SuperSport (United) conceding two goals.
“And the way we conceded those goals was very poor, we had a good defensive record until then. It’s important for everyone to remain focused,” he said.
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