DURBAN - Former Bafana Bafana marksman, Shaun Bartlett, has expressed his desire to work for the national team on a permanent basis.
Bartlett served as an assistant coach on a temporary basis this month as Bafana collected four points out of six against Seychelles in back to back African Cup of Nations qualifying games. Bafana coach, Stuart Baxter, has been assisted by various coaches, among them Thabo Senong, Molefi Ntseki and Quinton Fortune, the former national team midfielder.
Baxter also tried to get Rulani Mokwena from Orlando Pirates but miscommunication between the South African Football Association (Safa) and the Buccaneers led to that possibility not being materialised. Bartlett says he would like to serve the nation on a permanent basis.
“It was good to be involved with the national team. I’ve always wanted to do that for a while. I’m happy to work with coach Stuart. I worked with him during his first spell as the coach of the national team. I know what he wants,” Bartlett said.
Former Bafana captain, Neil Tovey is the technical director while former national team goalkeeper Andre Arendse is the goalkeeper coach. Aaron Mokoena has been serving as an assistant team manager.
“It’s nice to have former players involved with the national team. That can help the players on how to adapt to different conditions and work on their mindset because our problem is not technical,” he added.
Bartlett has a huge hope in the current crop of players: “We have one of the most exciting squads we’ve had in a while. The combination between Percy Tau and Lebo Mothiba excites me. Dino (Ndlovu) is also a good prospect. We have to get results in our last two games against Nigeria and Cameroon and qualify for the Afcon in Cameroon.”
Bafana will face the Super Eagles in November at FNB Stadium. They have collected eight points in four matches and currently hold second place in their group, on course to qualify for the 2019 tournament which will be hosted by Cameroon.