Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos admits the inconsistent game time of midfielders Sipho Mbule and Thalente Mbatha is something he is monitoring closely.
Mbule and Mbatha have become regular names in Broos’ selections of late but have been victims of an over inflated squad at Pirates this season.
With Abdeslam Ouaddou aiming to balance the squad minutes, keep his team fresh and squad morale upbeat – Mbule and Mbatha have been part of the rotation of the squad.
Broos said while it’s not an issue right now, as they are still featuring for Pirates, it could become an issue in future, if they have extended periods without game time or regular starts.
“In short term it’s not a problem, in long term it can be a problem, it’s true, but I think… actually I know because I had a meeting with the coach of Pirates, and I asked why this and why that,” Broos said about Mbule and Mbatha’s inconsistent game time.
“He has I think, 35 players or something, it’s not easy to please everyone, so you have to change your team nearly every week. To keep everyone quiet, that’s what he is doing, but when you see the game [against Golden Arrows] – you see Mbule and Mbatha playing and I was happy with their performances.
“So, for the moment, it’s not really a problem, but if it goes on, then yeah okay, then maybe one day I have to take a decision to call someone else because they don’t have enough [starts] and this is a bit of a problem, teams like Sundowns too. They have so much players, what can you do as a coach with so much players, you have to rotate.
“But that means some national team players won’t be playing for three or four weeks, I can be angry and frustrated about that, that will not help, it’s the decision of the club, the decisions of the coach, and I have to respect it.
“But on the other side, I have to look if these things don’t happen for two months for example, or more, then it will be a problem, it already happened in the past I left players out of the squad because they didn’t play enough for their team.”
Mbule and Mbatha are joined by teammate Masindi Nemtajela in the 23-man squad set to face Zambia next weekend at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
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