Time will tell for Bafana

SA have not had enough time to prepare for tourney

Bafana Bafana coach Stuart Baxter, pictured, believes he didn’t have enough time to prepare for the four-nations tournament in Zambia, but is still looking forward to salvaging something from outing.

The Briton has picked a squad with an average age of 25 comprising youngsters and experienced players. He would have preferred to participate at the King’s Cup in Thailand where he would have met hosts‚ Slovakia, and United Arab Emirates.

He’s had, however, to settle for the tournament involving teams that Bafana have met on many occasions. Zambia, Zimbabwe and Angola will take part in the tournament in Ndola from Thursday.

“It was short notice and sort of on and off. The danger is there that you don’t get enough time to sort of make proper preparations, and I have to say preparations have been compromised,” Baxter told the media from an airport hotel where the team was in camp from Sunday.

“But we still have only this one as preparation for Afcon qualifiers … so I want some good positive results there [in Ndola] and yes, I will love it to be at the same time as winning the games. “I really, really want to get a lot of good information that will equip us to go on and have a good qualification [for the Afcon]. It’s a balancing act,” said Baxter.

The 64-year-old will not have enough time to prepare in Zambia, but will have a light session.

In the first match of the tournament, the home side play against Zimbabwe on Thursday at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola [1pm]. Bafana will face Angola at 3pm at the same venue.

Bafana depart for Zambia this morning.