BAFANA Bafana coach Shakes Mashaba is targeting six points from his side’s 2015 African Nations Cup double-header against Congo over the next 10 days and says the national side will go into the challenging fixtures without fear.
South Africa travel to Pointe Noire for the first match on Saturday before hosting their opponents in Polokwane next week Wednesday, knowing that a full haul of points would almost certainly book their place in the continental finals in Morocco in January.
Mashaba says he will be bold and look for three points away from home on the artificial surface of the Stade Municipal in Pointe Noire and believes his side have nothing to dread … on the pitch at least.
“When it comes to the football, we have no fear, we are confident in ourselves and our abilities,” Mashaba told the Daily Dispatch.
“What maybe keeps me awake at night is the hostility we will face off the pitch, from the fans and so on. They could make it very unpleasant for us.
“It is not something we will harp on to the players about though, the squad we have selected is robust and they have already shown great mental strength in previous games.”
Mashaba insists there are no thoughts of going to Congo for a draw.
“We will not settle for anything, we want maximum points. If we got six points from these two games, and I would love to see these boys do that, then we make life easy for ourselves.
“We could play the final two games with no pressure, knowing we can afford to draw one maybe even lose the other. That is the position we want to put ourselves in,” Mashaba explains.
He says the squad now understands what he wants from each individual and how he sets his side out to play, but above everything, they understand his values.
“They know I expect commitment, they know I expect them to be mentally strong, they know how to improvise on the pitch but still maintain the tactical discipline. I am happy with how things are going.”
After a recovery session yesterday, the team will have its first full training session at the Bafokeng Sports Campus this morning when the side will have a full complement of players after having to wait for the final few arrivals overnight from Europe.
They chose to train in Phokeng as the state-of-the-art facility has both grass and artificial surfaces but Mashaba says it will be important to limit the players’ exposure to the artificial pitch for fear of injury.
“The artificial pitch is very demanding on the muscles and with the special boots that the players must wear there is the potential to develop blisters, so we will limit their time on there.
“We will probably do two-and-a-half sessions on the artificial surface and the rest on the grass pitches, otherwise it could be too much for the players.”
Mashaba’s selections, more those who he left out rather than who he brought in, have raised questions from certain quarters, but the coach’s over-riding message is for the country to trust his judgment.
Shakes calls for total warfare
BAFANA Bafana coach Shakes Mashaba is targeting six points from his side’s 2015 African Nations Cup double-header against Congo over the next 10 days and says the national side will go into the challenging fixtures without fear.
South Africa travel to Pointe Noire for the first match on Saturday before hosting their opponents in Polokwane next week Wednesday, knowing that a full haul of points would almost certainly book their place in the continental finals in Morocco in January.
Mashaba says he will be bold and look for three points away from home on the artificial surface of the Stade Municipal in Pointe Noire and believes his side have nothing to dread … on the pitch at least.
“When it comes to the football, we have no fear, we are confident in ourselves and our abilities,” Mashaba told the Daily Dispatch.
“What maybe keeps me awake at night is the hostility we will face off the pitch, from the fans and so on. They could make it very unpleasant for us.
“It is not something we will harp on to the players about though, the squad we have selected is robust and they have already shown great mental strength in previous games.”
Mashaba insists there are no thoughts of going to Congo for a draw.
“We will not settle for anything, we want maximum points. If we got six points from these two games, and I would love to see these boys do that, then we make life easy for ourselves.
“We could play the final two games with no pressure, knowing we can afford to draw one maybe even lose the other. That is the position we want to put ourselves in,” Mashaba explains.
He says the squad now understands what he wants from each individual and how he sets his side out to play, but above everything, they understand his values.
“They know I expect commitment, they know I expect them to be mentally strong, they know how to improvise on the pitch but still maintain the tactical discipline. I am happy with how things are going.”
After a recovery session yesterday, the team will have its first full training session at the Bafokeng Sports Campus this morning when the side will have a full complement of players after having to wait for the final few arrivals overnight from Europe.
They chose to train in Phokeng as the state-of-the-art facility has both grass and artificial surfaces but Mashaba says it will be important to limit the players’ exposure to the artificial pitch for fear of injury.
“The artificial pitch is very demanding on the muscles and with the special boots that the players must wear there is the potential to develop blisters, so we will limit their time on there.
“We will probably do two-and-a-half sessions on the artificial surface and the rest on the grass pitches, otherwise it could be too much for the players.”
Mashaba’s selections, more those who he left out rather than who he brought in, have raised questions from certain quarters, but the coach’s over-riding message is for the country to trust his judgment.
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