It doesn't have to be so complicated.

This was Bafana Bafana coach Shakes Mashaba's view of the ongoing club-versus-country saga that is likely to drag on in October when the national team face Angola in another two-legged African Nations Championship (Chan) qualifier.

The Premier Soccer League is yet to release its fixture list for the upcoming season, but there has been no mention of making provision for these two Bafana matches.

Mashaba endured tough preparations ahead of his side's qualifier against Mauritius a little over a fortnight ago in Johannesburg when he was forced to cancel two training sessions because he did not have enough players.

However, Bafana beat the lightweight islanders 3-0 at the Dobsonville Stadium and thumped them 2-0 in their own back yard at the Stade Anjalay on Sunday.

Mashaba stressed the weight of the less glamorous Chan tournament, which is meant for players active in their domestic leagues.

"They are not just some games, they have an impact on the nation," the coach said yesterday.

"Look at it this way, the league plays the whole month but Bafana play once. If we lose, the mood in football changes. We can only hope that with the support [certain clubs] have been giving us now, they will continue to help us with players."

Mashaba said his employers, the South African Football Association, should not have to "negotiate" for players to feature in the tournament, as has been the case over the past three weeks.

"That is such a strong word," he explained. "It [the competition] is something that is in our calendar and everybody knows about it. Why do we have to negotiate?

"I can understand if the club says they have a situation but can offer one, two or three players. But there's no need to negotiate because everybody has got the dates of these competitions."

His squad that faced Mauritius on Sunday afternoon did not include players from Mamelodi Sundowns, Bidvest Wits, SuperSport and Kaizer Chiefs , to avoid clashing with some PSL coaches.