Introducing the 16 men who will be on the bench in the coming PSL season

The wait is finally over, with the Absa premiership season kicking off on Tuesday evening.

While curious fans will finally get a first glimpse of the new players who are expected to carry the burden of expectation in the coming season, there is as much pressure on the men who will coach the 16 top-flight clubs.

Introducing the 16 men who will be on the bench when the curtain goes up on the new Premier Soccer League (PSL) season.

STUART BAXTER (SuperSport United): A third assignment in South Africa for the 63-year-old after being in charge of the national team and Kaizer Chiefs.

He has been given good material to work with and a mandate to deliver.

ROGER DE SA (Ajax Cape Town): Success in last season’s MTN8 covered up a poor league campaign for the Premier Soccer League veteran‚ who has been involved from the bench in every season since 2000.

MUHSIN ERTUGRAL (Orlando Pirates): The Buccaneers are the sixth PSL club for the 56-year-old German of Turkish origin.

He will be looking for his first-ever PSL title but has won a myriad of cup trophies during his time in South African football.

LUC EYMAEL (Polokwane City): A first season in the PSL for the 56-year-old Belgian‚ who has had a nomadic career with 14 different clubs.

In the last years he has had a heady turnover of clubs in the Democratic Republic of Congo‚ Gabon‚ Algeria‚ Kenya‚ Rwanda‚ Tunisia‚ Oman and Sudan.

ALLAN FREESE (Highlands Park): The eldest of three footballing brothers who entered the coaching ranks at Platinum Stars and won two knockout titles with them.

The 60-year-old took over at Highlands last season and delivered them their first ever promotion.

GAVIN HUNT (Bidvest Wits): The 52-year-old Hunt begins the season as the most experienced of the 16 PSL coaches with 687 matches in charge since he first started in 1998.

He can also boast three league titles from this time with SuperSport United.

CAVIN JOHNSON (Platinum Stars): A youthful looking 57-year-old began his work at junior level and he has worked himself up the coaching ranks.

Took Stars to second place in the league in 2013 but his jump to SuperSport after that did not prove successful.

STEVE KOMPHELA (Kaizer Chiefs): The last game of last season marked Komphela’s 300th match as a PSL coach. He has yet to win a trophy despite coming close in knockout trophies on several occasions.

CLINTON LARSEN (Lamontville Golden Arrows): One of four coaches in the PSL who is a former Bafana Bafana international.

He left Bloemfontein Celtic under a cloud last November but quickly found employment at Arrows.

DENIS LAVAGNE (Free State Stars): One of the three PSL newcomers who had a spell in charge of Cameroon’s national team and took Coton Sport to the African Champions League final. He joined Stars just weeks before the club was suddenly put up for sale and will have seen most of last season’s squad leave.

SERAME LETSOAKA (Bloemfontein Celtic): The 53-year-old former maths teacher was a coach with the junior national teams and later assistant at Bafana Bafana before he began his first head coach job with Lamontville Golden Arrows at the start of last season.

After 10 games‚ he was poached away by Celtic.

DAN MALESELA (Chippa United): The most inexperienced of the PSL coaches after starting with Chippa in December but quickly proving his acumen by ensuring sixth place for the club’s best finish.

He is a former captain of both Pirates and Sundowns.

ERNST MIDDENDORP (Maritzburg United): The 57-year-old German rescued Maritzburg from relegation last season and has signed a new contract with them.

His other clubs in South African football were Chiefs‚ Celtic‚ Arrows and Chippa United.

PITSO MOSIMANE (Mamelodi Sundowns): Two PSL titles in the last three years more than make up for his calamitous spell in charge of Bafana Bafana.

This year he could become the first South Africa coach to win the African Champions League.

KGOLOKO THOBEJANE (Baroka FC): The former school teacher from Limpopo looks like he could become a colourful character in the PSL after leading Baroka to the National First Division title last season ... and also taking some top-flight scalps on the way to a Nedbank Cup semifinal.

ERIC TINKLER (Cape Town City): The 46-year-old led Orlando Pirates to the African Confederation Cup last season but eighth place in the PSL was not enough to save his job.

But he was out of work for just a few weeks before John Comitis called him about his new club.