Durban - Former Bafana Bafana and Orlando Pirates defender Siyabonga Sangweni has expressed his displeasure with absence of the national team's Head Coach as the side prepare to contest in the Hollywoodbets COSAFA Cup.
Bafana Bafana Assistant coach Helman Mkhalele will lead a fairly inexperienced group of under-23 players at this years edition of the COSAFA as they plan to use this competition as building block towards qualifying for the Olympics.
Sangweni, who has 29 Bafana caps to his name feels that the Belgian mentor should be directly involved at all development stages if he is available to do so and his absence at a tournament like this might affect the player's transition from age group national teams into the senior set up.
"We are not sure about the relationship between the coaches and these boys at the moment and it's very important that they familiarize themselves with the coach as early as possible," he revealed to IOL Sport.
"The Bafana technical team claim that they are building for the future with this squad therefore it doesn't matter what tournament it is but the coach should be around them as much as he can to motivate them and hand the right directives and mould the right understanding of what his demands and expectations are."
Bafana's squad will most likely be led by new AmaZulu signing Ethan Brooks as he remains the only player that was a part of the team that won the COSAFA Cup trophy last season, a worrying factor according to 'Nsimbi'.
"I really commend them for handing youngsters a chance but I think a good merge of both youngsters and experienced heads would've been better," he explained.
"The importance of having a senior figure on and off the field to guide them on what to do and what not to do in the Bafana set up would accelerate their adjustments to national team expectations."
The South African national team is the second most successful nation when it comes to COSAFA Cup with eight trophies to their name just three off Zambia whose haul of eleven makes them the kings of this competition.
Bafana opening their COSAFA Cup campaign against Mozambique next Wednesday. The two sides will enter at the quarter final stage and go head to head at the Princess Magogo Stadium in Kwamashu.
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