Cape Town - Orlando Pirates caretaker coach Eric Tinkler has explained the
thinking behind his decision not to rest Oupa Manyisa for Saturday's
clash with Bloemfontein Celtic.
READ: Pirates bag points v Siwelele.
The 26-year-old has been ever-present for Bucs in 2014, making his 79th appearance of the year in the 2-1 triumph over Celtic.
Tinkler admits that Manyisa hasn't been playing to the best of his ability of late, but has put that down to the fact that the diminutive midfielder is suffering from accumulated fatigue.
And he feels that fielding a fatigued Manyisa is more beneficial to his team than resting him from time to time.
"Oupa Manyisa is Mr Consistency," Tinkler told The Citizen. "What we need to understand now is that his role has changed ever so slightly due to the fact that we play two strikers.
"He used to play a lot higher when we played with one striker and he got himself in scoring opportunities.
"The truth is that Oupa is tired. We know that Oupa can do much better than what he is currently doing. There is a lot of fatigue after the run of games we have been having.
"Oupa Manyisa is a type of player that the opposition sees his name on the team sheet, they think 'hey we have to deal with that man'.
"He is a positive name to have in the team sheet. He brings a bit of fear into the opposition. That's the kind of psychological advantage that we have, hence we persist using him."
Manyisa won't get much rest during the mid-season break, though, as he will soon link up with Shakes Mashaba's Bafana Bafana squad ahead of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea.
READ: Pirates bag points v Siwelele.
The 26-year-old has been ever-present for Bucs in 2014, making his 79th appearance of the year in the 2-1 triumph over Celtic.
Tinkler admits that Manyisa hasn't been playing to the best of his ability of late, but has put that down to the fact that the diminutive midfielder is suffering from accumulated fatigue.
And he feels that fielding a fatigued Manyisa is more beneficial to his team than resting him from time to time.
"Oupa Manyisa is Mr Consistency," Tinkler told The Citizen. "What we need to understand now is that his role has changed ever so slightly due to the fact that we play two strikers.
"He used to play a lot higher when we played with one striker and he got himself in scoring opportunities.
"The truth is that Oupa is tired. We know that Oupa can do much better than what he is currently doing. There is a lot of fatigue after the run of games we have been having.
"Oupa Manyisa is a type of player that the opposition sees his name on the team sheet, they think 'hey we have to deal with that man'.
"He is a positive name to have in the team sheet. He brings a bit of fear into the opposition. That's the kind of psychological advantage that we have, hence we persist using him."
Manyisa won't get much rest during the mid-season break, though, as he will soon link up with Shakes Mashaba's Bafana Bafana squad ahead of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea.