PSL
Baxter has Bafana concerns
2012-12-12 14:06
Johannesburg - Kaizer Chiefs coach Stuart Baxter said he will hold talks with
Bafana Bafana coach Gordon Igesund amid growing concerns about the usage
of his players on international duty.
According to the
football411.com website, Baxter's worries stem from the way the club-versus-country issue
was handled two months ago when Amakhosi had their players return from
national team duty in Poland and Kenya, only to play a match 48 hours
later.
Chiefs have seven players in the squad to play Malawi on December
22 and most are likely to make the cut for the 2013 Africa Cup of
Nations squad, leaving Baxter a worried man.
"I'm gonna speak to Gordon and SAFA about the bigger picture in terms of the loading on players," Baxter told Football411.
"The national team took our players to Poland and Kenya - when
they came back, we were given a game two days later against Bidvest
Wits, which we have suffered for since then because for instance we have
been walking a tightrope with Bernard Parker's ankle," Baxter lamented.
"It is just fatigue. So we will have a talk about the big
picture. We have been told by SAFA that they don't take responsibility
for the injuries that occur to the players, but they have to.
"Basically, we want our players to play for the national team and
we want to support the national team but we have to use the players
with some common sense and some respect," he stated.
"I'm sure we will come to some sort of agreement. You can't have
the players back from the national team and play them 48 hours later,
that's not common sense.
"The worrying issue for me is AFCON, because when my players
return from the tournament I will have to rest them and that may mean we
go into the first few games with a very depleted team.
"Now, that may be an issue that forces us into the market but we
don't want to go into the market. We want to build this team through
developing our own players. We can't be buying four or five players
every transfer window and just play lottery whether the player who you
buy will be successful or not," Baxter added.
The last round of PSL matches in 2012 will take place on December
19 and the league will resume on February 12, two days after the AFCON
final, with Chiefs set to play against Mamelodi Sundowns.