Broos rattled as most players lack game time

Ahead of Bafana Bafana Africa Cup of Nations back-to-back qualifiers against Uganda at Orlando Stadium on Friday (6pm) and South Sudan on Tuesday, coach Hugo Broos has expressed his concerns about the unfortunate situation of having some PSL players in the camp who have not played enough competitive games.

With the Betway Premiership matches to start on September 14, this has seen most of the teams not involved in competitive games, with only those who were participating in the MTN8, CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup having game time.

This has left Broos frustrated as most of the players he selected are not at the level of fitness he wants for the qualifiers.

“As we all know the PSL [league matches] only start now in September, so it means we have players between us that didn’t play very good games,” Broos told the media during a press conference at Dobsonville Stadium yesterday.

“I know that clubs who are not playing MTN8 or preliminary games for the Champions League or Confederation Cup are all playing friendly games against each other ... but this is not the same. It's preseason games and this is different to a game like  [the one] on Friday and next Tuesday [Afcon qualifiers].

“So, it annoys me a little bit and it will be for me to see how we can manage that. I think the most important thing is to have the right mentality. If we can show the right mentality, we won't suffer much from lack of games.”

What also worries Broos is that his goalkeepers – Veli Motha and Ricardo Goss – have not played enough matches, with only Sipho Chaine having been involved in competitive games with Orlando Pirates.

Broos, however, said they will have a plan on how to manage them and he is confident they will get a positive result. “I have already discussed that with [assistant coach] Helman Mkhalele, we know a little bit about what we can do on Friday,” he said.

“It’s up to the players who are playing in teams that didn’t play too intensive games to find the right mentality. I know those players very well except a few new ones in the group, but I know that I don’t have to bother about that, they showed already in difficult situations the mentality.”

Meanwhile, Broos is targeting six points in the two matches to have a perfect start to Afcon qualifiers. “We must have a good start and for me, we must get six points. If we can achieve that, and we have two key games in October against Congo [back-to-back], we can qualify.”  

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