Give the youth a chance: Baxter

THERE needs to be an emphasis on youth in players selected for Bafana Bafana this year, national coach Stuart Baxter said as part of a radical transformation in approach he outlined this week.

Baxter said this would mean some players having to make way.

South African football could not continue with the same approach that had not produced for more than a decade – including his own failure to qualify last year for the 2018 Russia World Cup.

“I think we’ve got to make a conscious decision to make a bit of a leap.

“And I don’t think that will be easy‚” Baxter said as he outlined his vision for Bafana in 2018.

“I think some players will need to be move to one side to give younger players a chance to gain experience.

“We are so passionate about our football in this country‚ we want to win every game.

“So we play a friendly against‚ let’s say, Mali. And Mali send an experimental team and we pick our absolute best team. Why? Because noone accepts that we don’t win.

“And then we win 1-0‚ and we’re really happy. But we’ve had our best team out‚ no kids have had experience.

“And we go down the line another two years and our best players are racking up the caps and our young ones get 15 minutes here and there.

“So when I say radical‚ I mean that we’ve got to think differently.

“I think‚ talking in terms of the bigger picture‚ we’ve got to take the bull by the horns a bit and say‚ ‘if he’s ready‚ he’s ready‚ and he goes in’.

“The attitude must be that if we have them, they go in. I think at the moment it’s been‚ ‘they have to wait’.”

He said his task was not just to introduce youth‚ but to do so while also qualifying for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.

“The other thing we’ve got to do is qualify for Afcon.

“So I can’t be sitting here and asking for a free pass for 12 months from you guys [the media].

“We have got to commit to getting our younger players gelled with the ones we know have a longer future.

“The ones who have the right attitude‚ who don’t want to be partying when they come on national camp,” Baxter said.

“People who are committed to this country‚ to the shirt‚ want to improve – give them the basics‚ give the kids the experience.

“We have got to go to Afcon because those young players‚ and the players whom we believe in‚ need the experience of a major tournament.”

Bafana’s 2019 Afcon qualifiers resume in September against Libya at home.

SA began the qualifiers with a 2-0 away win against Nigeria in June. – TimesLIVE