Tinkler sacked as he pays the price for Maritzburg’s poor start

Eric Tinkler has been sacked as Maritzburg United head coach, after a start to the season which has seen them lose all five of their league and cup matches.

“It has been an extremely disappointing start to the season and the results have not been forthcoming,” Maritzburg Chairman Farook Kadodia said in a statement on the club website.

“The Board therefore took the decision to terminate the contract of the coach. We would like to wish him all the best in his future endeavours.”

United’s malaise dates back to the start of the bio-bubble in August – Tinkler’s side were in excellent form when the season was postponed in March because of the coronavirus, but did not win a game on its resumption. United, indeed, had gone 11 games in league and cup without a victory, and defeat to Black Leopards on Saturday, a result that left Maritzburg bottom of the DStv Premiership, appears to have been the final straw for club management.

Tinkler took over at United in January 2019, in place of Muhsin Ertugral, with Maritzburg at the bottom of the table, with just 11 points from 18 games. United only got 16 points from their last 12 games in the league, but made the promotion-relegation play-offs, which they won to stay in the top flight.

United recovered from a poor start to the 2019/20 season, and even reached the Telkom Knockout final, where they were a little unlucky to lose to Mamelodi Sundowns.

Tinkler’s side even went on a run of just one defeat in 11 league and cup games, and continued their good form into 2020, where they won three league games in a row heading into the enforced break. Nevertheless, it all went pear-shaped once football resumed and now, fearing another relegation battle, management have decided to take immediate action.

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