CAPE Town City coach Eric Tinkler has been crying out for answers as his team plummets down the DStv Premiership standings to the point where they may no longer be challenging for a season-ending top-four finish.
Cape Town City are now in seventh place, and with six Premiership matches remaining the CAF slots for next season's competition will be lost to them unless the teams currently above them on the log suffer regular defeats.
City will have a chance to turn the corner today when they host the Lamontville-based Golden Arrows at the Cape Town Stadium.
Golden Arrows are in ninth place on the standings, and should they defeat City, they could be swopping log positions.
While Tinkler will be looking to ease growing concerns over his side’s poor form, there is also a real danger the team could drop out of contention for a top-eight berth.
“Our recent form is a massive concern. It is a concern. We are a very ambitious club that wants to achieve things,” said Tinkler.
“Now, we have to look at our next game against Golden Arrows. But the efforts against Polokwane City in our last game were much better.
“It was something I wanted to see from the players. They put in the effort, some of the games they have not.”
Tinkler is carrying a great burden on his shoulders, given the weight of expectations on the club, the players and himself.
“My job is to manage the players and their expectations. I have expectations and the club has expectations,” said Tinkler.
“When they get onto that field for 90 minutes, that’s their responsibility, not mine.
“Now, I have to change that mindset. I must make them aware that when you get onto the field, you have the responsibility to get the results.
“If you don’t take your chances, you may end up losing. One win, you go up the table. With one defeat, you drop to eighth.
“We just have to keep on grinding and what we do at training, that’s all. All I can do is go back to training and repeat everything we have been doing, especially the offensive phase of our game.
“Defensively, fix the errors that we have been making. There is not much more I can do because my job is to tactically prepare the players.”
After last week’s 2-2 draw with Polokwane City at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium, City’s winless run in the Premiership extended to eight matches in 2024. The gap between Arrows and the Mother City outfit stands at just three points.
Arrows bounced back from their 7-1 humiliation at the hands of Orlando Pirates by playing out to a 1-1 draw with local rivals Royal AM in Hammarsdale last week.
The 20-year-old midfielder Siyanda Mthanti is having a very impressive debut season in the Premiership and Arrows coach Steve Komphela believes he has a skill set that is becoming increasingly valuable against opponents that set up with a low block defensively.
“Mthanti comes from our youth system, but the profile suits where he is playing. Where you say, go wide, exploit one-on-ones,” said Komphela.
“Because coaches are so organised now, they form a block, so who is going to unlock them?
“You need one-on-one players who are capable of dribbling. Mthanti is like that. Look at Real Madrid’s block. They sit 10 players inside the box, what do you do? You need a Sgwiji to dribble, you need a Rivaldo, create a penalty, whatever.
“Players that are just playing one-two’s. Those schemes can be predicted, and in a block they anticipate how the ball will move. So Sgwiji helps us in that regard.”