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Cape Town - Eric Tinkler admits he was surprised to see Lehlohonolo
Majoro and Kermit Erasmus omitted from Bafana Bafana's Africa Cup of
Nations squad, but insists he has full faith in Shakes Mashaba's
decision.
READ: Sarr admits fatigue.
The South Africa coach announced his 34-man provisional squad on Thursday, where there were plenty of big-name players left out, including the Orlando Pirates pair of Majoro and Erasmus.
And while Tinkler feels the duo should arguably have been amongst the team, he admits he is pleased they will remain training with the Buccaneers during the AFCON break.
"I am slightly surprised. Majoro and Kermit have been scoring goals of late, but I can't question Shakes. We should support him," Tinkler said.
"Now that they have not been selected it benefits us. We'll work with them in January to get them ready for our first game against AmaZulu in February."
Pirates are next in action on Saturday, against Bloemfontein Celtic, who gave new coach Clinton Larsen the perfect start to his second tenure at the helm as they saw off Mpumalanga Black Aces 2-0 on Wednesday.
And Tinkler, whose side sit fifth in the Premiership standings and 20 points behind leaders Kaizer Chiefs, knows they will face a tough test against the Free State giants.
He added: "We got a draw against Celtic away from home. The motivation of their players will be different because they have a new coach. It will be like playing a cup final.
"We are far behind on points now and it's vital we collect as many points as possible to ensure we finish as high as possible on the log. A big club like Pirates should be higher up on the table."
READ: Sarr admits fatigue.
The South Africa coach announced his 34-man provisional squad on Thursday, where there were plenty of big-name players left out, including the Orlando Pirates pair of Majoro and Erasmus.
And while Tinkler feels the duo should arguably have been amongst the team, he admits he is pleased they will remain training with the Buccaneers during the AFCON break.
"I am slightly surprised. Majoro and Kermit have been scoring goals of late, but I can't question Shakes. We should support him," Tinkler said.
"Now that they have not been selected it benefits us. We'll work with them in January to get them ready for our first game against AmaZulu in February."
Pirates are next in action on Saturday, against Bloemfontein Celtic, who gave new coach Clinton Larsen the perfect start to his second tenure at the helm as they saw off Mpumalanga Black Aces 2-0 on Wednesday.
And Tinkler, whose side sit fifth in the Premiership standings and 20 points behind leaders Kaizer Chiefs, knows they will face a tough test against the Free State giants.
He added: "We got a draw against Celtic away from home. The motivation of their players will be different because they have a new coach. It will be like playing a cup final.
"We are far behind on points now and it's vital we collect as many points as possible to ensure we finish as high as possible on the log. A big club like Pirates should be higher up on the table."
