Bafana Bafana
Pitso warns overseas players
2011-07-11 07:11
Johannesburg - Bafana Bafana coach Pitso Mosimane has warned his overseas players
only regular first-team action will be rewarded with call-ups.
The fates of players such as Bongani Khumalo and Kagisho
Dikgacoi, who left the PSL for Tottenham and Fulham respectively only to
soon find themselves loaned out to lower league clubs and off the
European radar, are cautionary tales Mosimane hopes others will learn
from.
He told TimesLive: "My message is clear. If you leave the PSL, you had better make sure you play at your next club.
"If you don't, your place is under threat in Bafana. The days of
players gaining automatic selection ahead of a PSL player only because
they play abroad are over."
However, the 46-year-old insists he is not looking to prevent
South African players from playing abroad, adding: "When you move
overseas, even if you go to the UK first division, it is a good step as
long as you play.
"The intensity, tempo, stress, physical demands, expectations, the mental challenges of the game are higher than at home.
"The challenge for our players is they have to adapt to the conditions in which they find themselves.
"The damage only happens when players are not playing and have to come back home."