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Cape Town - Orlando Pirates coach Eric Tinkler believes reaching the CAF Confederation Cup final is an immense achievement in its own right because of the rigours of travelling throughout Africa.
The Buccaneers have reached their second major continental cup final in three years after securing a 5-3 win on aggregate over Al Ahly in the semi-finals at the weekend.
Back in 2013, the Soweto giants were beaten by Al Ahly in the CAF Champions League final. However, this time Pirates will face Etoile du Sahel from Tunisia in the final, with the first-leg set for 21 November at the Orlando Stadium.
"I think it's all about mindset. Our preparations throughout this competition have been very good and unity has been extremely important when we've gone on these kinds of trips," Tinkler told KickOff.
"I don't think people appreciate how difficult these trips are. It's not like in Europe where you can travel from England to Russia, which can be three hours. It takes us sometimes two days to reach our destination. I don't think people appreciate how difficult that is.
"I think it's also the mental aspect that you've got to prepare yourself for what you're going to confront.
"If you can do that and put all of that aside and just focus purely on what the objective is, which is to go there to get three points, you can get yourself to the next phase of the competition."
