Baxter: I can leave this job, I am not desperate

The embattled Bafana coach also launched a staunch defence of his side’s 2019 Africa Cup of Nations campaign on their return to Johannesburg on Saturday.

Baxter was visibly furious at a perceived negativity from the media’s lines of questioning, adding that Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger had both commended the team’s performance against Egypt, their 1-0 win over the hosts in the last 16 the clear highlight of their campaign.

“It has been a long campaign, I will go back to Sweden for a few days and look at myself and say, ‘do you really think, given the situation, you can take the team forward?’ If the answer is ‘no’ I will step aside, and if it is ‘yes’ I will speak to my employer and if they think the same, I will get on with the job.”

The Bafana coach, however, was spitting fire when asked if he could give a mark out of ten to his side’s display in Egypt, and the South African Football Association were asked if they though Baxter should stay in his job.

“I am not a schoolmaster, when you are asking questions and one of these is what was his (the coach’s) mandate, it is loaded to try and find an angle. I have no problem leaving this job. Don’t confuse me with a coach who is desperate for a job.

“I turned down a job offer this week from another African nation, I turned down an offer last
week from the Saudis, I have turned down jobs in Asia and South Africa. I am not desperate, I do the job because I want to and I think I can take the team forward, the second I think I can’t do it, I will leave.”

“(After the Egypt game) Jose Mourinho sent a text saying that was a performance the boys could be proud of. Arsene Wenger sent a text saying it was an un-African performance, and he was not being derogatory. People out there thought we were fantastic, but I still have to read ‘Let’s Boycott Bafana,” added Baxter.

“It is founded in the bitterness of defeat (to Nigeria in the quarterfinals), so we isolate losing … we can’t change that but then we will never open up and get the development we want. Am I satisfied? No, but I think we can be satisfied with the progress we have made and how we have enhanced our reputation. People now believe in Bafana.”

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