Please respect coach Thabo Senong‚ says Bafana stand-in captain Mario Booysen

Bafana Bafana stand-in captain Mario Booysen has urged his national team-mates to respect to coach Thabo Senong during their CHAN‚ third round qualifier match against Zambia next weekend.

Bafana coach Stuart Baxter will no longer be coaching the national team in the CHAN qualifiers and has handed over that task to his assistant Senong.

The South African Football Association (Safa) have decided that Baxter cannot afford the time to be involved in the two-legged tie against Zambia that will decide a place at next January’s finals in Kenya.

“He (Senong) has been with us since the Cosafa Cup tournament and he was with us during the two second round legs against Botswana‚" said the defender‚ who has returned to Mamelodi Sundowns after a season long loan spell at SuperSport United.

"The fact that he is the one who will be calling the shots must not make the players to be unprofessional.

"We have to respect him and be professional about how we approach training sessions‚ team meetings and the match itself.”

Bafana host the first leg at either Makhulong Stadium in Tembisa or Buffalo City Stadium in East London.

Booysen said it is important for Bafana to get all the three points on offer in the first leg so that they are in the driving seat when they travel to Zambia the following weekend.

“Zambia has beaten Bafana Bafana before at Cosafa but that is in the past and our focus now is to win these two legs and qualify for the tournament.

"We have to take advantage of the home conditions and travel to Zambia on top‚” he said adding that players are taking this opportunity of representing their country seriously.

“Most of the players in this Chan squad are hungry and they appreciate every opportunity they get of playing for Bafana Bafana.

"We are aware that in future‚ coach Baxter will look at some of us for the senior national team whenever opportunities arise due to injuries and suspensions or whatever reason.

"At the moment though‚ the most important thing for us as a group is to work very well with coach Thabo (Senong) and the rest of the technical team to make our country proud by qualifying for this tournament‚” he said.

- TimesLIVE