Johannesburg – Bafana Bafana coach Gordon Igesund says he is happy with the progress of his overseas-based stars, including Kagisho Dikgacoi, Dean Furman, Bongani Khumalo and Kamohelo Mokotjo.
Due to time constraints, Igesund has not been able to travel overseas to watch them, but monitor them from home, in preparation for his first game in charge against Brazil on September 7 in Sao Paulo.
In particular, Dikgacoi's storming performance for English outfit Crystal Palace in their match against second division side Exeter City in the League Cup, would have impressed the Bafana coach.
Dikgacoi scored Palace's winner with a header just before half-time in a 2-1 victory over Exeter to progress to the next round.
Apart from the burly midfielder's sterling show, Igesund said he had also monitored and continued to follow the likes of Oldham Athletic captain Furman, who played a key role when Athletic defeated English champions Manchester City in a recent friendly match.
Both Khumalo – who recently moved to Greek side PAOK – and Mokotjo, who plays for Dutch giants Feyenoord, had also received the attention of Igesund, who insists he is merely monitoring potential candidates for Bafana.
“Not everyone being observed will automatically get called to the national team,” he said.
“This is a normal exercise in the name of fairness that I assess as many players as possible. Having said that, I must admit that I am generally happy with what I have seen from most of these players.
“It gives me a fantastic headache because I will have a bigger pool on which to choose from.” – Sapa