NELSPRUIT – John “Shoes” Moshoeu believes that sound management is the only thing that can steer the national team out of this quagmire.

The side hosts Gabon tonight at the Mbombela Stadium in a  friendly which comes after   1-1 draws with Ethiopia and Botswana that  cast doubt on their chances of qualification for the 2014 World Cup. 

Caretaker coach Steve Komphela described the match as an opportunity to end the “cycle of depression” that has resulted from Bafana Bafana’s performances.

“It is sad for South African football,” Moshoeu said, describing the current situation. The former Bafana Bafana midfielder said this during the week long SAB Under-21 Regional Championship which ends on Sunday where he serves as its ambassador.

“If we breed good players in tournaments like this then,  without belittling these teams, we should be in a position to beat Botswana, Lesotho and the likes. 

“With the population that we have, we should produce more players than Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and Namibia. But those teams are growing in stature.

“All is not lost though, we just have to go back, sit down as a country and everybody responsible with our football – be it the administrators or media – try to identify the problem and find a solution to move forward.”

If it was up to him to table a way forward he would suggest “we have an Under-21 league”.

“Even if we do it provincially, so that we  have a feeding system to the Vodacom League, the National First Division, the PSL and ultimately Bafana Bafana,” he said. “If we don’t take care of our Under-21s and develop them in a good way, then we are going to have a problem. 

“If you look at a country like Spain their population is as big as Gauteng, but if you look in the sporting front – more specifically football – they are spoiled for choice. 

“They have got a lot of players. We should   have enough players to beat the world. This country is massive. The problem is that there are not enough initiatives to identify talent and channel it accordingly.”

That is the problem that will fall on either Gordon Igesund, Gavin Hunt, Steve Komphela, Ephraim “Shakes” Mashaba or Neil Tovey, who have been shortlisted to take over the Bafana Bafana coaching reins.

“I think on their own they will never succeed,” Moshoeu said. “We have to support them for the country to succeed.

“I would like someone that we are going to help to get the job. Someone we are going to be behind at all costs because at the end of the day, we lose as a team just as we win as a team. 

“We need someone who can take the country  to the next level – and they cannot do that without our support.”