Mokwena remains in frame as Bafana coach Baxter finalises technical team

Bafana Bafana coach Stuart Baxter is expected to finalise his technical team before the senior national team resumes the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying programme against Libya at home in September.

Baxter has been without full-time assistant coaches since he took over from Ephraim ‘Shakes’ Mashaba in May last year and Safa technical director Neil Tovey said they expect  him to finalise the process before September.

“He is busy with that issue of a technical team now‚ as you know there was talk around the Orlando Pirates assistant coach Rhulani Mokwena‚" Tovey said.

"We are looking at the coaches who have potential to come and be part of our structures. 

"We need someone who will help us and at the same time we will definitely help him.

“As an association we will soon have a complete structure with regard to our coaching structures. 

"There are going to be matches played in a few months time and hopefully by then he (Baxter) would have finalised his technical team.

"But it is his decision who he wants to work with.” 

Tovey said the appointment of Baxter’s assistants will have an impact on the U20 and U23 technical teams.

“That forms part of the thinking around Molefi Ntseki and Thabo Senong‚" he said.

"We are discussing all those aspects with Stuart because invariably the U23 coach will come in with regards to the assistant of the senior national team‚” he said‚ adding that the recent Bafana Bafana Four Nations squad included U23 players who will be embarking on Olympic qualifiers. 

“You can see that in Baxter’s recent call-ups‚ he incorporated a lot of young players who are U23 and U20 to give them experience‚" Tovey said.

"They will form an integral part of the programme for the Olympics. 

"More important for us is the U20s for the Olympics because they will be 22 when the games arrive. 

"We want the U20s and U17 to produce players for the Olympics and we must lay those platforms. 

"There is also a change within Fifa and Caf from 2020 where the Caf Youth Cup of Nations will be for U18’s and we have to change our thinking around that.”