Pienaar won't change his mind

THERE is "no chance" of Steven Pienaar making an about-turn on his decision to retire from international football, according to a source close to the player.

Weekend media reports in England had said that the former Bafana Bafana skipper would hold talks with Safa over a possible return to the national side, if he could miss the majority of the preparation for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations tournament in the early part of January.

By arriving just before the tournament got under way on January 19, he would miss just four league matches for Everton - away at Southampton and Manchester United, and home to West Brom and Aston Villa - as well as a potential FA Cup fourth round tie.

But any chance of that happening has now been killed off by the comments of Safa vice-president Chief Mwelo Nonkonyana, who last week branded the player "selfish" and "egotistical" for making himself unavailable for the Afcon finals.

"There is no chance he will change his mind, not now anyway after what Nonkonyana said," the source said. "That door has been closed by those comments, he will definitely not make himself available. There is no truth in those newspaper reports."

Pienaar is back in top form for his English Premiership club Everton after a slump in November, and coach Gordon Igesund would have dearly loved to have relied on the playmaker during the Afcon finals on home soil.

Pienaar cited fatigue as the reason for his decision to end his international career, and the move is great news for Everton boss David Moyes.

Meanwhile, Pienaar confirmed his return to form with a man of the match performance as Everton defeated Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend. He scored a rare header to initiate an Everton comeback that saw them score twice in 88 seconds at the end of the match and come back from a goal down to win 2-1.