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Cape Town - Bafana Bafana head coach Stuart Baxter has reflected on the 2018 Soccer World Cup qualifying campaign which ended with an away defeat to Senegal.
The 63-year-old admits that the qualifiers was a difficult campaign adding it is not easy to come in and impose your philosophy and get it right immediately.
"The replay against Senegal, a match South Africa had won, didn’t help for the mental part of the game," said Baxter as quoted by the official SAFA website.
"However, looking back, I think our biggest shortcoming, which has been the country’s perennial problem, has been scoring goals.
"We need to understand how to win games; it is something I have been trying to put across to the players as part of my philosophy."
Baxter said while results at most times were disappointing, South Africa showed if the team gets the balance right between efficiency and flamboyance, they can mix with the best there is.
"We need to maintain our philosophy and that is flamboyance and attacking football," Baxter continued.
"But we are not consistent enough; we need to produce that type of football on regular basis to stay on top.
"We need to challenge for top slots. We have shown it against top opposition; we have dominated them for long periods with some good football but failed to finish them off.
"What we need is to be more professional and continue to develop our own type of football that reflects the culture of South Africa," said the former Kaizer Chiefs and SuperSport United mentor
Baxter added that he would like to thank South African supporters who has shown love for the national team throughout the campaign.
"They (fans) play an important role in the development of the game and we hope they continue to be part of this process," said Baxter.
"They are the most important stakeholder of the game."
