Etoile du Sahel defeated Pirates 1-0 on Sunday to secure a 2-1 aggregate score but Pirates dominated a large part of the contest, especially in the second half, but failed to turn that into a goal.
Dumitru is familiar with this type of African excursion, having taken Mamelodi Sundowns to the 2001 Champions League Final
The Buccaneers have been questioned by many who say they are not giving so much on the domestic front this season and their League position also indicates that, albeit because of a tough travel schedule and gruelling matches throughout their CAF campaign.
“Going into the Final in the continental club competition is already an achievement, and if you play that element properly on a proper physiological context instead of players feeling down, they can feel motivated,” Dumitru tells snl24.com/kickoff.
“The only thing he [Eric Tinkler] can do to come up is what's going to happen next; for instance if you go back to the way they lost final you should say ‘okay what are the reasons why we lost the final and probably technically we were not very good so if we work on techniques or other elements related to technique we will have another chance next time around to win the cup’.
“There are positive things you can also exploit, particularly the players. They felt that they did quite well. So what happened is that the Tunisians were superior in technique and there was no question about that, and they managed to control the game.
“The other facet of the game I think Pirates did very well so if you isolate those things that the players can improve on, then the [losing in the] Final can be strong reinforcement for local performances.
“So it all depends on how you identify things, which could motivate the players to train harder.”
Pirates will have to finish in the Absa Premiership’s top three this season or win the Nedbank Cup if they want to play in Africa in 2017.
They will miss out on next year's CAF Confederation Cup having finished fourth last season, with the final spot taken by Nedbank Cup winners Ajax Cape Town. Bidvest Wits will be South Africa’s other representative after finishing third.