Cape Town - Eric Tinkler calls it “a good headache to have”.
But, from the outside looking in, there aren’t too many who would want to be in the Cape Town City coach’s shoes as he contemplates his starting team for the Telkom Knockout final against SuperSport United at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane on Saturday (kick-off 6pm).
One of the big pluses of City’s fantastic recent form, which has them top of the PSL standings and in Saturday’s cup final, is the depth and quality in the squad.
Tinkler has been able to confidently rotate the players and they’ve all contributed to the team’s impressive debut campaign in the PSL.
But, like it or not, it leaves Tinkler with a few really tough decisions to make with regard to who starts in the cup final.
The most notable selection issue for Tinkler is in central defence.
Tshepo Gumede and Robyn Johannes have been impressive as a partnership for City, but recent suspensions for both defenders allowed Tinkler to offer Ghanaian Joseph Adjei some game time - and the 21-year-old jumped at the opportunity with both feet.
Adjei has been hugely impressive since making his debut a few weeks back, so much so that Tinkler left Gumede out of the team that beat Wits 3-2 last week.
For that match, the City coach felt that Adjei’s physical presence, alongside Johannes, was the appropriate solution to deal with the Clever Boys’ physical threat.
Now the question is: How will Tinkler play it against SuperSport? Adjei, Johannes and Gumede - only two can play.
It’s a tough call and the City coach is fully aware that it’s a decision that could be the difference between winning and losing.
“We’ve got three good central defenders, but it’s a good headache to have,” said Tinkler. “Adjei has grown in leaps and bounds, so we’ll have to get the decision right.”
Tinkler was in full preparation mode when fronting up to the media before a training session in Green Point on Wednesday.
He knows his team is in for a difficult fixture against a high-class team in SuperSport, but he’s quietly confident City can go there and get a result.
“Look, SuperSport go into the cup final as favourites,” said Tinkler. “Stuart Baxter has built a team there with the idea of winning the title. They had a poor start to the season, but they’ve got better and better with every game.
"There’s no doubt that Baxter’s mandate at the club is to win things, and that’s what they will be trying to do on Saturday.
“For us, there is no pressure. I don’t think anybody expected us to be where we are But it’s a tribute to the hard work of the players. The one thing I know is that, as a team, we will always create scoring opportunities, and that will always give us a chance.
“When we started out, we told the players that they have a chance to create a legacy at City, not just for themselves and their families, but for the new football club we are in the process of building. We’ve set high targets, and we’ve worked together as a unit.
"The one good thing was that we started off well and that gave everybody the confidence to kick on.”
City have just two injury concerns, though, in striker Lehlohonolo Majoro and Latvian defender Renars Rode. Majoro will definitely miss the final, while a medical decision still has to be taken on the availability of Rode.
All in all, however, Tinkler highlighted two issues of importance going into Saturday’s finale: “Both teams are very good on the transition, so we have to make sure that we are defensively sound. I also want us to be careful of giving away unnecessary free-kicks. SuperSport are deadly at set-pieces, it’s one of their big strengths
“Also, and even more importantly, I want us to focus on ourselves, and our strengths. We have to play our game, impose our approach on them. I have no doubt that, if we play to our strengths, we can hurt anybody in this league.”