Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis is optimistic the young players at his disposal will prove they deserve to don the national team's jersey.
The South Africans are preparing to defend their continental crown in the Caf Women's Africa Cup of Nations set for July in Morocco. The tactician has selected players mainly U17 and U20 ahead of two international friendly matches against Lesotho.
Ellis wants to use the matches to pick younger players who are fit to represent the national team in bigger stages.
‘We don't want to put younger players under pressure'
“Look, we wanna see players play, let's not make no mistake because it's the only way you can see whether they can step up. Training shows you that they can do something and sometimes players don't perform in training. People expect the players to play but it starts in training,” the 61-year-old stated.
“So, we're hoping to see the players play and then for them to show us what they are capable of doing and if they can be added immediately or whether we need to call them in again and monitor them over a period of time.
“People think I go to games because I wanna be seen on TV but I can watch the game on TV. I want to see what's happening on the field, I want to see all the actions when players lose the ball, what are their reactions when coaches speak to them.
“I want to see all of that because it's not just about talent, it's about attitude, it's about everything because we need the whole package. We purposely didn't bring in any of the senior players because we didn't want to put the players under pressure.”
‘We will help them get ready’
The first meeting between Lesotho and Banyana Banyana will be on Saturday 22nd, with the next one coming in three days later and Ellis has explained what she wants.
“We wanted them to feel that they need to step up without there being any pressure and that is the only way we can make the core group bigger.
“It's not about an achievement for me, it's about them raising their hands. It's about giving them the opportunity and them stepping up because you can give someone an opportunity and then they don't step up and it's up to them because like I said, Sibulele and Karabo grabbed it with both hands.
“If you look where they are now, Karabo is one of the best defenders in the league. So, given the opportunity they might grab it, they might not yet be ready but we will consistently make sure that we help them along the way to make sure that when we do call them up, they are ready,” she concluded.
