Helman Mkhalele believes South African clubs need to show more faith in young players if Bafana Bafana are to become a competitive force again.
The Orlando Pirates legend, who was recently appointed as one of Hugo Broos’ two assistant coaches, says the national team’s struggles is indicative of what’s happening at club level.
“We all know that as a country we should not be where we are‚” ‘Midnight Express’ said ahead of Bafana’s friendly against Uganda on Thursday. “We deserve more than that. But if we continue to work together then I believe that we will achieve our goals.
“The biggest challenge from my observation is that what is happening at Bafana is a true reflection of what is happening at club level.
“There are many aspects that need to be addressed at club level. Some of them is that when you look at our players‚ they have got the talent, but that talent has never been helped to make sure that players go out there and use their talents without any reservations.
“When you look at our players they have the talent, but they lack that fighting spirit that comes from within each and every player. Those are some of the things that I feel need to be addressed at club level so that when the players come to us it becomes easier to deal with them.”
Mkhalele adds: “I am not saying that we need to push the youngsters, but it is also important that when the juniors are promoted they need to be seen playing more at their respective clubs so that they can gain more experience. We just need our teams to make sure that our clubs give these young players some experience at the top level.