Mamelodi Sundowns coach, Rulani Mokwena, has clarified the comments he made regarding Cassius Mailula’s inclusion in Bafana Bafana.
Last week the Sundowns coach told the media that Mailula should have been selected for the South Africa Under-23 team which played against Congo Brazzaville instead of Bafana Bafana.
“A lot of people thought I was saying Cassius is not ready to play for Bafana Bafana,” Mokwena explained.
“But that is not what I was saying. What I said is, offensive players get better by being on the pitch. I would have loved to see Cassius on the pitch for 90 minutes against Congo [Brazzaville] than to have him come 10 to 15 minutes for Bafana.
“These are games of consequences and I would have loved to see him get those 90 minutes and carry the national team and be under pressure because that would have helped him to be better and to improve.
“I have a different way of working with the young ones – you see them in and then out. Sometimes society is about instant gratification – one performance for the young ones it’s – I’ve arrived. You have to quickly remind them that there is still quite a long way to go and it’s the same for [Siyabonga] Mabena and Ntando [Nkosi].
“They have to work for these things. They have to be competitive. The moment you get into sports and you sign up and agree that you will be competitive – the first start is to compete for your place in the team. But I wanted to clarify the whole fracas about Cassius.”
By Zola Doda