Tinkler gives ‘brutal’ honest verdict on Comitis’ decision to sack him
Sekhukhune United head coach Eric Tinkler has given his “brutal” honest verdict on the decision of Cape Town City FC chairman John Comitis to sack him in December.
The 54-year-old was dismissed by ‘The Citizens’ in December 2024, with the club subsequently appointing Muhsin Ertugral as both interim coach and Technical Director [TD].
The Western Cape club’s decision to part ways with Tinkler came after a poor start to the 2024/25 campaign.
Under Tinkler’s leadership this season, CT City only managed three wins in their first ten Betway Premiership matches, suffering five defeats and drawing twice.
Additionally, he guided the team to the MTN8 semifinals, where they were knocked out by Orlando Pirates. They were also eliminated by Richards Bay FC in the quarterfinals of the Carling Knockout Cup.
Tinkler believes that he experienced an unfortunate spell where the players struggled to fully grasp and implement his tactical instructions.
He has admitted that if he were in the shoes of club chairman Comitis, facing the same situation, he would have made the very same call to change the coach.
TINKLER REFLECTS ON BEING SACKED BY CAPE TOWN CITY
“I’ll be brutally honest. I think if I had been in John’s [Comitis] shoes, I probably would have made the same decision to move me out,” said Tinkler during the interview with Marawa Sports Worldwide.
“That’s because players weren’t responding. There’s a stage somewhere in your coaching career where players either respond or don’t respond.”
When asked whether the players were resisting to respond to his coaching, he said, “No, I don’t think it’s a resistance. I just think my word was not really coming through. My coaching wasn’t coming through to them.
“They weren’t grasping it; they weren’t performing to the levels of my expectations.
“We’re seeing it happening currently at Manchester City. Is Pep Guardiola [Man City head coach] a different coach to what he was a year ago? No, he is still the exact same man. But players are responding differently.
“So, these things happen in football and sometimes, me as a coach I look at myself internally. I never put the blame on players. I ask myself what I could’ve done differently to get the right response from the players.”
RELATED STORY: Eric Tinkler identifies areas to improve at Sekhukhune United