Cape Town City captain Lebogang Manyama admits that he is saddened by the departure of coach Eric Tinkler to fellow Absa Premiership side SuperSport United.

Matsatsantsa confirmed that they have offered the former Orlando Pirates mentor a three-year-deal, which will see him take over the reins from Stuart Baxter, who has since taken up the role of Bafana Bafana coach.

Manyama, who was instrumental for the Citizens in Tinkler’s historic debut campaign, admits that Tinkler’s departure is a huge loss for he club, but says he isn’t holding the decision against him.

“We meet to part in football at the end of the day. Nothing lasts forever,” he told The Star.

“He saw an opportunity for him and his family first and foremost. We have to respect that,” Manyama added.

“We can’t judge what he did because he knows his reasons. And he probably feels with more resources and a slightly better squad at SuperSport he can achieve more success. All we can do is wish him the best and be thankful for all the time we spent with him at Cape Town City.

“You can see with our fans’ reaction that it is disappointing to see him go, but that is football. We have to move and find ways to continue where we left off. There is no doubt that he will always be remembered because of the season we had and him being coach.”

The Bafana Bafana midfielder also spoke of Tinkler’s chances of success at SuperSport.

“You never know whether you can pull it off until you are there. Look at Zinedine Zidane at Real Madrid. He didn’t have the experience, but has achieved great success.

“I am not saying coach Tinkler doesn’t have the experience, because he has coached at (Orlando) Pirates and played at the highest level, but you can’t judge anybody when they haven’t even done anything.

“Let’s wait and see what he does and then we can talk from there, but I don’t doubt his ability,” he concluded.

Photo: Aubrey Kgakatsi/Backpagepix

— This story originally appeared on SoccerClub.co.za