Mental issues bother Pitso

Pitso Mosimane conceded on Tuesday he’s worried about the mental state of some of his Bafana Bafana stars ahead of next week’s friendly with Burkina Faso.

Mosimane has named in his 23-man squad for the clash against the Stallions – set for Coca-Cola Park a week today (8.15pm) – players such as Tsepo Masilela and Katlego Mphela, who both still do not know where they’ll play next season after enduring a frustrating past few weeks in search of new teams.

While Mamelodi Sundowns’ Mphela returned from Scotland a dejected man after being rejected by Glasgow Celtic, Masilela has been keeping fit by training with Moroka Swallows after failing to secure a move to Leicester City.

Mosimane, like he did last year when he stood by Siyabonga Sangweni and Siboniso Gaxa when the two were faced with an almost similar situation, yesterday pledged to back his players.

“I will support them, that’s why I’m here. Some of the players we have for this camp are unstable because they’ve spent hours on the plane looking for teams. This was the situation last year when we played our first match after the World Cup,” Mosimane said.

Another obvious challenge for the national coach was the players’ lack of match fitness, with absolutely no form associated with the squad announced yesterday.

“No team has played a competitive game yet and this is one of those difficult, short camps. We are going to have players arriving a day before the match, like was the case last year.”

In spite of these challenges Mosimane promised his men would seek nothing but a win against the Burkinabe, who have promised to bring along their strongest possible squad.

“We are taking this game seriously because we have an eye on our next (African Nations Cup) qualifier against Niger (in September).

“Burkina Faso are from the same region as Niger but they have stronger and tougher players so this will be a good challenge for us. We want to win so that we can improve our position in the rankings before the Nations Cup finals draw in October,” Mosimane added.

His team had a familiar look to it, although the inclusion of SuperSport United’s Tebogo Langerman did raise some eyebrows. Bafana will train at Coca-Cola Park on Monday and Tuesday, while Burkina Faso arrive in the country on Monday. Tickets for the game, selling from R50 to R100, have gone on sale at Computicket outlets countrywide.

Squad

Goalkeepers: Itumeleng Khune, Wayne Sandilands

Defenders: Siboniso Gaxa, Morgan Gould, Bongani Khumalo, Tebogo Langerman, Happy Jele, Tsepo Masilela, Anele Ngcongca, Siyabonga Sangweni

Midfielders: Kagisho Dikgacoi, Hlompo Kekana, Thanduyise Khuboni, Andile Jali, Reneilwe Letsholonyane, Steven Pienaar, Tlou Segolela, Siphiwe Tshabalala

Strikers: Kermit Erasmus, Lehlohonolo Majoro, Katlego Mphela, Bernard Parker, Thulani Serero