Igesund fumes over Furman

BAFANA Bafana coach Gordon Igesund has hit out at English League One side Oldham Athletic, who he accused of reneging on an agreement that would have seen midfielder Dean Furman in camp with the national team in Cape Town.

Furman is the only one of Igesund's 23-man Africa Cup of Nations squad who has yet to arrive for the start of Bafana's preparations for the continental showpiece and he is now only expected on Monday.

Igesund had agreed with Oldham that he would be in camp by January 2, but with the club now taking on Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup this weekend, they have gone back on their word.

"I am very disappointed with the fact that Dean is not here. I made an agreement with the club when I flew over there last year and now because they are playing Nottingham Forest this weekend, the chairman has overturned the decision. It is very disappointing," said Igesund yesterday.

Furman will now likely play no part in the international friendly against Norway in Cape Town on Tuesday.

Igesund also diplomatically batted away suggestions that they should rather be playing an African opponent just a few weeks out from the tournament.

"I inherited the matches against Brazil, Poland and Norway when I took over as Bafana coach but this one might turn out to be a blessing in disguise," Igesund said.

"Morocco and Cape Verde play quite a European style of football, so I believe this will be good preparation for us."

Of the players that are in camp, Igesund has a clean bill of health and is delighted that key playmaker Thulani Serero has shown signs that he is regaining full fitness. If available, Serero is likely to be the player Igesund builds his side around.

"Serero is a special player; he is the Lionel Messi of South African football. The team plays around him. I would say at the moment his fitness is around 60 to 65%, but I put him through a full 90 minutes in our last camp in Joburg on a hard pitch and he came through that well. For me, selecting him is a gamble worth taking."

The coach said he remained perfectly at ease with the 23 players he had selected for the Afcon finals, saying at this stage he regretted nothing.