Fifa rankings? Who gives a bloody Tarzan! Seriously now, Shakes

Bafana Bafana have shot up the Fifa rankings by 10 spots. So what? Must we now swing on branches like Tarzan to celebrate the move from 67 to 57?

This does not call for a coming together, hands held, and breaking into a chorus of kumbaya.

Rankings are nothing but a bowl of balderdash that must always be taken with a bucketful of salt.

For crying out loud, the last time England won something was in 19 bloody 66.

Yet for some unfathomable reason the tame Three Lions are always in the top 10 or thereabouts of world rankings.

For a decade Ivory Coast dripped with a world-class golden generation that's now heading for oblivion.

But all of Didier Drogba, Didier Zokora, Yaya Toure, Salomon Kalou, Gervinho et al have won nothing, their high rankings not withstanding. It is with this in mind that one cautions coach Shakes Mashaba not to become a child in a candy shop because of this upshot.

It is no exaggeration that everyone - except for a few possessors of poisoned pens who have personal axes to grind with Mashaba - is excited by the turnaround in the team.

The general consensus is that the Bafana revolution is on course.

Four matches. Two wins. Two draws. No goals conceded. Top of the group with two matches to go means qualification for Morocco (until further notice) is a heartbeat away.

And that will be achieved, if Bafana beat Sudan next month, without depending on permutations of this one beating that one and, and, and.

The last time Bafana were in such complete command of their destiny was before Tarzan mastered the art of swinging nonchalantly on branches. Of course that's an exaggeration, but if you don't catch my drift, share a cup of tea with Kermit the frog.

The technical staff's concentration should be on amplifying defensive alertness and minimising giving away set-pieces in dangerous positions.

Their preoccupation should be on sharpening the goal scoring and increasing the tempo.

Their eye must not stray from the dedication and determination of promoting a collective work ethic informed by an all-for-one and one-for-all ethos.

Those are the aspects that will continue to improve the team.

There is a whole new culture that is being inculcated in the team.

Obsessing with the rankings mumbo jumbo must be ejected from that culture pronto.

My personal conviction is that rankings are akin to what somebody once told me about twitter: being popular there is an equivalent of being rich in monopoly.

Just because a team is ranked lower or above us doesn't mean we have to think of them any differently. Everyone is capable of beating anyone. It is a matter of record, not rankings, that we beat 2010 world champions Spain last year.

Football is a funny game. You scale dizzy heights today. You hit the lowest of ebbs tomorrow.

In Mashaba's own words: "We must not get lost in the moments of excitement and dejection.

"When we lose we must know that we will win, and when we win we must know that we will lose."

Bafana are making strides and are giving South Africans a feel-good factor. Still, we have not qualified for sweet bugger all. Qualifying for Afcon, wherever and whenever it is hosted, will be nice.

But being among the 32 nations in Russia in 2018 is where we want to be. That is the mandate: from Maseru to Moscow.

My low regard for rankings is the reason journalism is my career because me and numbers have never been as tight as tongue and saliva.

Fifa rankings? Who gives a Tarzan! Seriously.

@bbkunplugged99