IF AJAX Cape Town coach Roger de Sa had it his way, he would have taken Eric Tinkler with him to the Urban Warriors.

The two coaches go way back, as far back as the late 1980s when both were just aspiring youngsters hoping to make it big in the game.

An assistant to De Sa for seven years, Tinkler is now trying to make a name for himself in one of the hottest seats in the Absa Premiership.

The coaches face off tomorrow at Orlando Stadium in the Absa Premiership, when De Sa's Ajax face Pirates (8.15pm).

"I had him as my assistant for many years and if I could I would have him as my assistant again, but unfortunately I can't. He is a hard worker. He is a good, strong and honest man," De Sa said recently.

Tinkler is looking forward to the clash against his old mate De Sa, who is doing pretty well at Ajax.

"We worked together for many years. We first met in the late '80s, I think 1987, when I was a young boy coming through the ranks at Wits," De Sa said. "We were together at Bafana and when I came back to SA in 2005, I played for Wits and I was the player-coach. I was raw as a coach and still young.

"I wanted to coach with my heart rather than with my head. I got the opportunity to work with Roger and I learnt a lot from him.

"We have certain similarities in terms of how we approach the game.

"They [Ajax] like keeping the ball on the deck, which is what we do as well. It's going to be another tough game. We will remain friends, no matter what the score is."

Tinkler is wary of an Ajax side that has improved immensely from last season. The Urban Warriors are in fourth place on 23 points, after their midweek 4-2 loss to Wits.

"They've had a fantastic season. They play a good brand of football and they have a good balance of youth and experience."