Johannesbrug - Safa chief executive Dennis Mumble has this skill where he can talk a lot without saying much, which makes him an ideal spin doctor as he can bamboozle journalists with a lot of irrelevant information to side-step them from what they’re in pursuit of.
But when it came to the disappointment of Bafana Bafana failing to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations, he was frank.
More frank than Safa president Danny Jordan, who seemed to be in denial, arguing that the fat lady hasn’t sung with one more match to go in the qualifiers.That match against Mauritania will now be a formality.
Bafana Bafana won’t be going to Gabon next year because they won’t win Group M or be one of the two best runners up when the qualifiers end in September.
That campaign might have ended in disappointment, but it provided valuable lessons for the technical team and the organisation. The Kamohelo Mokotjo saga, when he retired through social media until “circumstances change” because of limited game time, exposed the flawed communication lines between the players and management.
“We need to make sure that we don’t repeat the mistakes we made in the Afcon qualifiers in the World Cup qualifiers,” Mumble, pictured, said.
“We went to speak with the players, they understand what’s in front of us. "We must qualify for the 2018 World Cup. I told the team that I will make a special effort from my side to constantly talk with them. I will do what I used to do in the past, recently I haven’t been able to do it, which is to make sure that when they arrive in camp, I come to have a talk with them.
“If the president is there, he does it and then hands them over to the technical team. So, that if there are issues, the players let us know. They already communicate with the team manager (Barney Kujane). But I promised them that we are looking at different ways to improve our communication. I asked them to give me a group of players that I would constantly speak with.
“The team said we don’t want a certain group, if we have to talk to management, let’s do it together. They said it’s not that we don’t trust these guys, but when we have something to say, let’s say it.”
That’s the relationship between the players and management taken care of. The organisation is also considering strengthening his technical team.
“It’s important and it’s something that we’re always engaging in,” Mumble said.
“The coaches will tell you. They come and engage us all the time if they need help here and there. The last significant exchange we had was to look at whether there is anything that’s missing from the national team. The one thing that came out there is that we need to get some sport psychologist to work on the team on a permanent base.
"You can have the skills, tactical and technical acumen but if the player’s mind isn’t 100 percent on the task at hand, being able to work together with other players, then you aren’t going to succeed. These are the things that the coaches come to us to ask for. We are looking into the future. "That’s why we asked all of the coaches to work together.”
The Star