Stuart Baxter plays his first hand
The new Bafana coach is realistic about the difficulties of the national squad’s clash in Nigeria
New Bafana coach Stuart Baxter finally showed his hand when he announced his first squad, saying SA would go to Nigeria with a positive mind-set. Baxter was realistic and said he would accept a draw as a positive result in Bafana’s opening 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Uyo on June 10 against a team SA have yet to beat in a competitive match. Baxter‚ though‚ said Bafana would not fall into the trap of a negative mind-set by trying to play for a draw. "Everybody wants to get off on the right foot‚" Baxter said of his first assignment. "So it will be important in many ways. "I heard someone talking about our Under-20 team and saying, ‘Well‚ these are going to be future Bafana players and you must be disappointed about their dismal showing [at the Fifa U-20 World Cup]’. "I think it’s a little bit like that," Baxter said. "You know‚ we are going to Nigeria. Nigeria are probably the strongest opposition who we could get at this point in time on their own patch. So is it a disast...
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