It's lucky packet Bafana

Bafana Bafana coach Gordon Igesund joked ahead of the team's departure to Zambia yesterday that he might have to put name tags on some of the players he has selected for the Cosafa Cup to remember them.

Igesund has had to change his squad three times, with 14 players withdrawing because of club commitments.

The coach admitted that putting a team together had constituted the bulk of Bafana's preparations for the opening match against Namibia in Lusaka on Saturday.

Though Bafana will pass in to the quarterfinals of the competition due to their seeding in the Cosafa region, Igesund has to get to grips with a group of players with whom he is largely unfamiliar .

The Cosafa Cup is not recognised by the Fifa calendar, so clubs aren't obliged to release their players.

Wayne Sandilands, who will captain the team in Itumeleng Khune's absence, Lerato Chabangu and Katlego Mashego are the only true senior, seasoned players in the squad.

"It's been a difficult couple of weeks and we only finalised the squad on Tuesday," said Igesund.

"The tournament is five days old, with some teams having had six weeks to plan for the Cosafa Cup. We might have to squeeze in a few more practice sessions than we had initially planned."

Igesund said he did not pick players at random and that he and his technical team, had "a pool of about 60 players" from which to select a side, even though withdrawals came thick and fast.

"These aren't second-rate players. I have confidence in them and believe they will do well. For me, seeing five or six players pick up their hands for future tournaments will be my definition of success," said Igesund.

"We will have to work on tactics a lot because the national team has a certain way of playing and these players have never played together.

"It's not going to work like a machine, so people should expect mistakes."

The coach said the Cosafa Cup would help him measure the quality of Bafana against neighbouring countries.

"I never want to be negative even though we don't have a full- strength team, but expectations will always be high because, regardless of who we have selected, this is our senior team and our rankings will be affected," said Igesund.

The coach vowed that in future, the South African Football Association will be more purposeful and accommodating when it comes to Bafana's participation in the annual Cosafa Cup.

"Past coaches have always had this problem and nothing was done about it. Things should change and we will discuss our participation in detail from now on, whether we take part in it or not," the coach said.