The Turk will face his former employers for a second time in the space of two weeks: having guided his side to a 3-0 league victory over The Bucs in the Mother City last month, Ajax will again meet the Soweto Giants, this time in Johannesburg in their Nedbank Cup Last 32 showdown.
Ertugral says he has nothing but respect for ‘Micho’, enjoying a healthy relationship with his Serbian counterpart, and feels he is close to achieving something big at Mayfair.
“Micho is a very good coach,” Ertugral said. “To turn the team to that level‚ they are playing really good football. They just don’t have the answers at the moment.
“I know Micho very well from previous years when he was in Uganda, we would phone each other and we would share football thoughts. He is a great personality.
“Even before the last game we had a bit of a chat. He has got the team to a level that‚ in the future‚ can challenge for anything. I’m not luring them – it’s not a team you can lure, but they are a very short way away from major success. Given more time‚ and there is always pressure on Pirates‚ they will be a successful team.”
Ertugral says the duo’s past results, as well as their current 15th-place position in the league, amounts to nothing ahead of Saturday’s cup encounter.
“We know where their strengths are – we’ve analysed this to pieces,” he said. “We can’t go in thinking about where we are in the league – there’s no excuses, we want to get to the next round.
“It’s a completely different game‚ it’s a cup game. I know what cup games mean. It’s not going to be easy for us‚ I know that. I know how difficult it is to play in Orlando Stadium against a team who wants to prove a point.
“It will be a very interesting game to watch.”
Kick-off is set for 20h15.