Tinkler understands there will always be different opinions, some of them negative, about him in his line of work but will not succumb to the pull-down syndrome.
The former Bafana Bafana midfielder has had to walk through rough terrain in his first head coach job with some openly stating they don’t believe in him, some expressing their doubts about his coaching pedigree while some have given him the support.
READ: Barker backs Tinkler for CAF glory
In all that, Tinkler has had to develop thick skin having also endured criticism during his time as a player – he was a holding midfielder who was never fancy but still got a very good job done.
“Once you get into this position the pressure is always going to be there,” says Tinkler who is two weeks shy of completing a full year as head coach at Pirates and in line to become the first coach to take a South African club to the Final of the CAF Confederation Cup since it was formed in 2004.
Pirates face off with Tunisian club Etoile du Sahel in the two-legged final with the first leg starting off at Orlando Stadium.
READ: Bucs buoyed by Etoile's poor record
“In all truthfulness, as a player I have always had that pressure because you are going to always have your naysayers. You always have people that have a different opinion about you and not a positive opinion but a negative opinion of you and you will have to be strong enough and big enough to believe in yourself and believe that what you are doing is the right thing. I have always had that as a person,” he explains.
“I have experienced the highs and lows in my football career. I have been relegated and I have been promoted and I have been sacked from a club as a player and I have found myself without a club for two years and then having to work my way back into a club.
“So I have experienced the highs and lows and it has never affected me and I have taken that mentality into my coaching career. So believe it or not, in these big games I feel more comfortable when it is the big finals and against big teams than what I do when we play against the so-called smaller teams. I feel the pressure more there than what I do in the bigger games.”
Tinkler will also be quietly hoping that his first piece of silverware as a coach arrives with a bold statement by winning the CAF Confederation Cup, which he is now just 180 minutes away from bringing to South Africa.
For that to happen he is hoping the experience of losing in the Champions League Final two years ago provides the experience that they need this time.
“With the more senior players and the players that were involved in the Champions League two seasons ago, that experience that they gained has definitely helped us. It is going to be very important for us come Saturday because they know what it is like to lose in a final of a big competition such as this one and the hunger and desire has to be shown by them. That hunger and desire is then transmitted and transferred to the guys that weren’t involved. That has been very positive and will help us ensure that we get the right result,” says Tinkler.
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In the new KICK OFF magazine, December Issue 464 – on sale today – read why Pirates left-back Thabo Matlaba believes the fans should rally behind coach Tinkler. Download a digital copy now!