Sundowns are still favourites. I believe they will close the gap. This is normal.
Klate, Gaxa sing praises of ‘brilliant coach’
EX-DOWNS MIDFIELDER
Two players who were given a chance to shine as youngsters in the Bafana Bafana squad have backed Stuart Baxter to succeed as national team coach, should he be appointed by the SA Football Association for his second spell.
Both Daine Klate and Siboniso Gaxa, now veterans of the game, were given their Bafana debut by Baxter in 2005 and were impressed with the work he did back then with the national team. Gaxa went on to win two Absa Premiership titles with Baxter at Kaizer Chiefs. The defender believes Baxter’s knowledge of SA football will give him the edge.
“He is a brilliant coach. He has shown that he is a good coach. He has so much knowledge about football and he knows so many cultures.
“He knows the culture of SA football and he’s coached Bafana before and that might help him,” said Gaxa, who is now at Bidvest Wits.
“Before he came to South Africa, transition football was not a big thing. He came to Chiefs and then there was this [thing] of transition. We applied it and it worked for us.”
Gaxa’s Wits teammate Klate was impressed by how organised Baxter was all those years ago and expects the Briton to bring more of the same.
“I think his first stint went well. He developed the team well, but it was cut short by him being sacked. [In actual fact Baxter resigned.]
“I had my debut with him and I saw that he is an organised coach.
“If he becomes coach, then I think it’s a good thing for the country because he is informed on the country’s football and he has done well [in the PSL],” said Klate.
During his first spell as Bafana coach, Baxter failed to qualify for the 2006 Fifa World Cup. His representative Steve Kapeluschnik has already started talking to Safa and hopes the process will not drag on. SuperSport have given them seven days to conclude a deal.
“I can’t give you date and time when we are meeting. But I can tell you the process has begun. Hopefully it does not take too long,” Kapeluschnik said yesterday.
Before he came here, transition football was not a big thing