Maritzburg United's most important bit of off-season business will be to secure the services of coach Eric Tinkler for the foreseeable future.
There was great celebration throughout the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands on Wednesday evening when Maritzburg survived the dreaded drop to the National First Division (NFD) after ensuring they won the promotion-relegation play-offs following a 2-0 victory over Royal Eagles in Chatsworth near Durban, which gave them an unassailable lead.
It had however all looked so different four months ago.
Tinkler arrived at Maritzburg on January 29, taking over from Muhsin Ertugral, who had endured a short and rather miserable five-match losing spell after he himself had replaced Fadlu Davids – the man who just months earlier had led the club to a fourth-place finish in the league and a place in the final of the Nedbank Cup.
At that point, Tinkler had been jobless after last working at Chippa United. Prior to that, his move from Cape Town City, where he had made such a positive impact, to SuperSport United, appeared to have backfired after he lasted less than a season in Pretoria.\
When you spend 17 weeks bottom of the table but you end up surviving relegation 😎🕺 #WeAreUnited #TeamOfChoice #BlueArmy pic.twitter.com/0jVsgVeDiz
— Maritzburg United FC (@MaritzburgUtd) May 29, 2019
When the former Orlando Pirates mentor began work in Pietermaritzburg, he found a side with players devoid of all confidence, the team anchored to the foot of the table after just one win in their opening 18 league matches, during which time they had scored only six goals; one every 270 minutes.
They had also crashed out the Nedbank Cup to Witbank Spurs – a team who were later relegated from the National First Division.
A bigger challenge he couldn’t have asked for. Right from the start, he knew he would be relying on other teams to drop to points, and that ultimately Maritzburg's fate was out of their own hands.
For the last four months, right up until Maritzburg beat TTM last week to surge ahead at the top of the play-off table, Tinkler would have found sleep hard to come by.
🗣️ Coach Eric Tinkler
I'm very, very proud of the players, the technical staff, the chairman, the fans. The fans have been absolutely phenomenal. You know you wish you would see more clubs in the PSL with a fan base like this club hence this club doesn't deserve to go down." pic.twitter.com/9NggJL0rUo
— Maritzburg United FC (@MaritzburgUtd) May 29, 2019
You could see him on the touchline, living every minute of every game as his side huffed and puffed, missed simple chances, hit the woodwork and on several occasions were just plain unlucky; the nerves building with every match.
He started his tenure four days after arrival with a 1-0 defeat away to the team he once played for, Bidvest Wits. But the following game brought a glimmer of hope as Maritzburg beat Polokwane City 3-1.
From there on in, it was a rollercoaster ride, with ups and several downs, before a final day 1-1 draw with Baroka saw the team ending above Free State Stars on goal difference, which meant they were to face the play-offs rather than automatic relegation.
Tinkler's biggest job, as he readily admitted, was not about tactics or game-plans, but simply to restore confidence to the players. As he pointed out himself several times, he had inherited a decent enough squad, a team who had finished fourth in the league less than a year before. The challenge was a psychological one.
BOSS: Eric Tinkler. Photo: Sydney Mahlangu/Bakcpagepix.
The team needed a leader with character and calmness, someone who could emphasise with his players and rebuild their morale. And that’s what Tinkler brought to a tee.
He also, however, needed support – from the club's management, and crucially, from the fans. The saying that home supporters create a '12th man' for a team can sometimes be a cliché. But in Maritzburg’s case, this really has been the scenario.
Twice towards the end of the season, with the team looking dead and buried after going a goal down to AmaZulu and later Bloemfontein Celtic, the Team of Choice's fans somehow lifted their side to dramatic and unlikely late wins – Allan Kateregga's sensational brace in the dying minutes against Phunya Sele Sele, and Judas Moseamedi’s 90th minute winner against Usuthu will long live in the memory of the fans.
Moseamedi's two goals in the final 18 minutes in a 3-1 win over SuperSport in Maritzburg's last home game of the regular campaign was another crucial contribution which ultimately helped save the season.
ALL OVER! WE HAVE SURVIVED 🙌
A massive win at the Chatsworth Stadium confirms our Premiership status for next season. #WeAreUnited pic.twitter.com/oBMRUbH4Qu
— Maritzburg United FC (@MaritzburgUtd) May 29, 2019
The Maritzburg faithful certainly deserve to be watching top-flight football next season again. Unlike some of the other PSL clubs, the Maritzburg fans are real supporters, who have a genuine affection for their club and their players, and rather than stay away when their team are struggling, they understand how their support can lift the team.
Through thick and thin, rain or shine, they're there rocking the Harry Gwala Stadium no matter who the opponent. They accept they're a small town club, understand their limitations and are not overly expectant. As long as the players give their all, the fans are generally behind them.
And when it comes to drama and pure entertainment, the Team of Choice faithful have certainly had their fair share.
It was just three years ago that a large contingent of Maritzburg supporters travelled up to Vosloorus to see their side avoiding relegation on the final day of the season with a dramatic 3-1 win over Jomo Cosmos.
Club management too should be credited. Years without major sponsorship have made it difficult to hold on to their rising stars, and there has been frustration amongst the fans at the regular selling off of their top performers.
But this is however just the way things are in South African football. When one of the big teams in Gauteng offers to treble a player's salary and tempts them with a more glamorous lifestyle, it's difficult to get players to stay.
How could the club not have allowed Lebohang Maboe – now a star at Mamelodi Sundowns and set to head to the Africa Cup of Nations with Bafana Bafana, the chance to spread his wings, for example?
For the less financially well-endowed PSL teams, It's all about how a club rebuilds, and Maritzburg's policy of uncovering rough diamonds – be it local talent – whom the fans can identify with, or previously unheard of or unheralded players from across the African continent, has proven successful.
FIGHT: Mbulelo Wambi of Royal Eagles and Siphesihle Ndlovu of Maritzburg fight to stay in the PSL. Photo: Howard Cleland/BackpagePix.
This is a club which likes to maintain humility and tries to do things the right way, within their means. There's a genuine family atmosphere, and players and staff are treated with respect.
It's from this base which their success has come, and it's for this reason that many a neutral is happy that Maritzburg United will again take their place in the PSL next season.
That's in just over two months time. Before then, the club will no doubt be working overtime to tie down Tinkler, who initially joined for a six month period with the option of a further two years.
There will also be work to be done in the transfer window – star midfielder Fortune Makaringe is reportedly off to Orlando Pirates, while several other players, including Siphesihle Ndlovu, will attract interest.
There's also the question of the loan players – the likes of Kateregga, Moseamedi and Miguel Timm played key roles in the relegation fight, and could be tempted to sign permanent deals. The work won't stop as the club does all it can to ensure that next season is about challenging for a top-eight spot rather than relegation.
African News Agency