IS THERE STILL ROOM FOR KHUNE, KATSANDE & PARKER?
Bernard Parker nior players such as Itumeleng une, Willard Katsande and rnard Parker, who have enjoyed ccess at the heights of their reers, have drawn mixed ntiments from the Amakhosi aithfula with regards to their value d contribution to the squad. t Siyabonga Nkosi feels their tures will all depend on their illingness to buy into, and help stil, Gavin Hunt’s philosophy and eas onto the rest of the squad.
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“I feel he can still use those players, depending on how he wants to use them, whether sparingly or full-time,” Nkosi says. “The main thing is for the coach and the senior guys to find an understanding. Obviously, there’s bound to be misunderstandings between some of the experienced players or those with a bigger profile and the coach, but the difference is in the mentality and the personality of each individual.
“One might say, ‘OK, the coach is here, I might disagree with him on this and that but I’m willing to meet him halfway, endorse his ideas, and try and plant it amongst my teammates, especially the younger ones.’
“In other words, help the coach instil his methods and philosophies onto the rest of the squad, because that’s one of the roles you have as a senior player. Others might have this unwillingness to adopt that [philosophy and methodology]. “If that happens then there’s going to be resistance and negativity, which will filter down onto some of the other players, especially those that aren’t playing and forming part of the coach’s preferred squad. “So, it all depends on the mentality of those senior players because you don’t want half the squad pulling in a different direction and at the end of the day the coach takes the fall.”