Gordon Igesund (File)

Related Links

• Santana an end of an 'error'?
• Morris: Nothing has changed
• New Bafana coach on Friday

Johannesburg - Maritzburg United coach Gordon Igesund has admitted he wasn't surprised to hear that Joel Santana was no longer at the Bafana Bafana helm on Monday.

Gallery: Goodbye Santana

The Brazilian parted company with SAFA 'by mutual consent' after an executive meeting in which the body requested him to explain the national team's poor run of form.

Early reports suggested Santana had resigned from his post, but it now seems he was forced to walk away after the association revealed his best efforts weren't good enough.

Igesund, who is a popular candidate to take over the reins due to his extensive experience in South African football, admitted the news of Santana's departure did not come as a shock.

"I don't know if he was sacked or resigned or felt the pressure too much, but he obviously was under immense pressure because the whole country was against him so to speak," he told Football365.co.za.

"But maybe he brought it against himself because he was stubborn sometimes and consistently wanted to play with defensive midfielders and so forth. I wasn't really that surprised, it seemed like it was coming, but they did say they were going to give him two more games, but maybe that would have happened if the results against Norway and Iceland were better."

Igesund has hit out at critics who insist both he and Gavin Hunt have no international experience and thus cannot lead Bafana.

"You know when they talk about international experience, all they are talking about is coaching a national team and a team in the World Cup. Every single international coach right now, coaching a national team had no experience when they took over their first job. They all had to start somewhere," he added.

Igesund, who is currently the most successful coach in the country and Hunt, who has guided SuperSport to successive titles, have been the names most lobbied by forum users, while poll votes suggest the nation does not want Jomo Sono back in charge, nor another foreigner.