Shakes needs time

Cape Town - Former SuperSport United coach Cavin Johnson believes that Bafana Bafana boss Shakes Mashaba must be afforded time to succeed.

Mashaba was not given an official mandate when he was appointed to the position earlier this year, but South African Football Association president Danny Jordaan said that he had been tasked with rebuilding the national team ahead of the 2015 and 2017 African Cup of Nations tournaments, as well as the 2018 World Cup, with an eye on the 2022 World Cup.

Mashaba has selected a young squad for South Africa's opening AFCON qualifiers and while this may bear fruit down the line, it could result in a few unwanted results early on.

Johnson has called on the media and the team's fans to give Mashaba time to see his vision through.

"The biggest challenge of them all for Shakes is the critics who put coaches under a whole lot of pressure," Johnson told Football411.

"Fortunately or unfortunately the biggest culprits are (the media). We need to get (the media) involved as coaches, and get them to understand Shakes’ vision and what Shakes is going to do in order for them not to put the coaches under unnecessary pressure.

"Another challenge is the mentality we have as a country.

"Development takes a minimum of five years and it goes on from there, it’s not something that happens overnight. So they cannot start expecting Shakes to produce the goods now.”

Follow Sport24's LIVE and interactive match commentary for this vital Group A AFCON 2015 qualifying match!