‘Keep Mashaba as he rebuilds team’
JOBURG - 'Don't fire Bafana Bafana coach yet,' urge two Premier Soccer Leagues coaches.
Two Absa Premiership coaches have urged the powers that be at the South African Football Association not to fire Bafana Bafana coach Shakes Mashaba.
Coaches Jomo Sono of Jomo Cosmos and Eric Tinkler of Orlando Pirates have said they would like the Bafana coach spared as he tries to rebuild ‘our tattered team’.
“I don’t know what the mandate is but from what I understand, Mashaba was tasked with rebuilding the team for Vision 2020, and if that is still the mandate, then let him stay and we can only judge him on his track record when 2020 finally comes to an end.
“I know how difficult it is to piece together a team, let alone a winning one, and Mashaba should be given time enough to do that without any sense of fear of losing his job, which alone hampers his abilities at making a success of the endeavour,” Tinkler said.
Sono was equally supportive of the comments made by Tinkler. “Let the man do his job without any form of hindrance and threats that his job is on the line,” he said.
“Coaching Bafana Bafana comes with its own stresses, and at the end of it, you can either be a hero or villain. I believe in hiring a coach and letting him do his work without any form of interference, whether on his choice of players or by virtue of threats about whether his job was secure or not.
“Half the time this man will be panicking more about his future than the work at hand which is rebuilding and shaping the team to a winning outfit.”
Their comments come after Bafana Bafana again failed to qualify for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon after being held to a draw by Cameroon both away and at home.
The two games had been billed as must-win matches if Bafana Bafana wanted to keep their hopes for qualification alive following a dismal performance in the starting games of the qualifiers.
On a lighter note, Sono advised Mashaba against throwing tantrums each time he meets the media. “Being criticised and called all sorts of names is part and parcel of the hot seat of being a Bafana coach. People will always look at you when the results are not coming and it’s about time he gets used to it and keeps a cool head,” Sono said.
