MOTIVATION

Shakes’ ability to get the best out of his team has a lot to do with his motivational skills.

He has this uncanny ability to bring a team together and he created harmony in the squad. Even from a distance you could see that the boys are proud to be part of the squad, you saw it when they sang the national anthem. Mentally, you could see that all was well with the squad. Most impressive in this regard was how he stuck with the players he had chosen.

When people complained that Ndulula and Rantie were wasting chances, he stuck with them and this really worked on their psyche and they wanted to play for him to thank him for the faith he showed in them.

Khan believes the approach Mashaba has taken was the best given the circumstances Bafana were in.

“After all the previous failures, the best thing Bafana needed was a ‘lift me up’ and Shakes delivered it. In the long term maybe people might worry that the squad will need more than motivation and the freedom to play as they believe. But let’s wait and see how he handles that.

“What I don’t agree with though is the notion that we’re building. We can’t be building at this level and while it is true we’re not the finished product yet, there’s some confidence to be gained from this feat. With so many players in the squad products of a development programme of sorts, it is very clear that the best way forward for our game is start identifying players at an early age and giving them the opportunities immediately, instead of waiting for much later”.