Irvin Khoza wanted to persist with Eric Tinkler as head coach at Orlando Pirates just over a year ago but gave in to supporter pressure, the Bucs' chairman has said.
Khoza said the foundation that had this season taken Tinkler to his second CAF Confederation Cup semifinal and third domestic final was laid during the coach's time at Pirates.
Tinkler's Supersport United reached the Confederation Cup semis on away goals with an impressive 2-2 draw in the second leg in Ndola, Zambia, on Saturday, after a 0-0 draw at home.
Bafana Bafana's 1996 Africa Cup of Nations-winning defensive midfielder left Pirates as coach after a seventh-place finish in 2015-2016 when he steered Bucs to the Confederation Cup final, losing to Etoile du Sahel, of Tunisia.
Tinkler went on to steer Cape Town City to third place in the league last season and the Telkom Knockout trophy. Pirates under three different coaches, sagged to their worst finish of 11th in the PSL, with no trophy.
"What defines a coach is his work ethic. Tinkler is defined by that," Khoza said on Tuesday.
"Tinkler is hands-on. That is why it was not easy for me to let him go. I wanted to maintain him in the team but unfortunately he got a very good offer.
"And I'm happy - he's doing very well. You see, my selection of Tinkler was not misplaced. It was a good choice.
"But unfortunately the supporters were impatient.
"And a lot of people are impatient, but we see things that they don't see.
"Because when they never saw anything in Tinkler, I saw something in Tinkler. And I'm happy it's been proved that my choice was the correct choice.
"When he went to Cape Town City he won a trophy. Now he's in a final and a semifinal.
"So there's nothing new about Tinkler because we had prepared him for this. He's been in the final of the Confederation Cup and he's been in three finals in this country."
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