Komphela says it’s unfair to blame Baxter for Bafana’s struggle
Kaizer Chiefs coach Steve Komphela believes it is unfair of South Africans to point a finger at Stuart Baxter for Bafana Bafana’s failure to live up to expectations.
Steve Komphela and Stuart Baxter (Lefty Shivambu Gallo Images)
Baxter has come under fire after Bafana failed to qualify for the 2018 Fifa World Cup.
Komphela says South Africans are impatient and are quick to play the blame game during difficult times.
“It’s sad‚ but there’s nothing that we can do. And we can’t blame anybody but ourselves‚” said Komphela‚ a former assistant coach to Baxter in the Brit’s previous stint with Bafana in 2004 and 2005.
READ: Chiefs striker out for the remainder of the year
“I strongly believe you can’t point a finger at one person. And my take on it is not going to be technical or tactical‚ or whatever.
“It’s just pure planning and conviction to the plan.
“I don’t know whether we are aware‚ as a society‚ that football is a reflection of how we think and how we go about business.
“Are we patient enough as a nation‚ in anything?
“You sit down‚ you think. After thinking you draw a plan. After planning you prepare. After preparation you start participating. And in-between‚ up until you start participating‚ there are going to be some setbacks and shortfalls. You review‚ reflect and consolidate.
“Move on. Then do it again‚ up until you reach your final destination. But we South Africans are different. Our thinking is that: bring a plan‚ let’s make it a four or five-year plan‚ or 10.
READ: SuperSport stand to win R18 million in Caf prize money
“The first six months in‚ you immediately think‚ ‘No‚ no‚ I must have achieved my objections’.
“Very impatient. I think it’s high time that we stopped looking at Bafana Bafana but address ourselves as a nation‚ as a society. How much patience we have in everything.
“Whether you go religious‚ political‚ even in economics. ‘I want to get rich now‚ I don’t care.’ And in the process of my wanting to get rich now‚ there’s a whole lot of souls that I trample on.
“There are no values. So we need to create a system that respects planning. And planning comes at the back of serious thinking.”
