Johannesburg - Whether you are a Kaizer Chiefs fan or Bafana Bafana supporter, Stuart Baxter is a name familiar with every South African football follower.
The Scotsman won two Absa Premiership titles with Amakhosi in his three years at the helm, while also winning the Nedbank Cup and MTN8 competitions. This after an underwhelming spell with the national team 10 years earlier.
The 62-year-old returned to the country for a third spell earlier this year, this time at the helm of a struggling SuperSport United, who he has transformed in his short time by leading back into the top eight as well as the Nedbank Cup semifinal.
In an interview with PSL.co.za, Baxter was asked about his 12 years in South African football which began in 2004.
“When I came to South Africa the first time with Bafana, to be very honest, I think it was probably too early in the development of the football here.
“I think there were still huge differences in opinion on how the game should move forward, and I don't think that people were very receptive because there were so many different opinions on what we should do.
“So I came because I wanted to change things, but I don't think there was that chance. That one was not productive.”
However during his second stint, he was very productive - so what was different?
“When I came back the second time, it was about proving something. I wanted to show people that if you coach properly and you do the job seriously and you show people that you want to improve the game, then you can get success and I think I did that.”
“This time was just about whether I wanted to come back or not. It was about if I want to work in this country with the players, knowing all the pitfalls and really this time I came back because I wanted to come back.
“My family loves South Africa and I always enjoyed working with the players, so that was the main reason. And I think the only decision was whether to come back in the middle of the season or do I wait till the start of the new season?
“I just thought that coming back in the middle of the season when I received the offer from SuperSport at a tough time for them was an opportunity I would take.”
When asked about soccer's evolution over the years and about the strength of South African soccer, Baxter is unsure.
“I think yes and no. I think the league has certainly got stronger, I think it's proving more teams that are competitive now. I think the coaches have been exposed to international football, the clubs are more serious about coaching education, the league is promoted better now, so there's improvement all round.
“There's stronger academies, but not enough emphasis placed on youth development. “So that's one area where there is a lot of work to do, but in general there is an improvement and you can see that with the level of competition. I think there's more team capable of beating each other now.
“When I was with Bafana, I think Chiefs and Pirates dominated and Sundowns were close. The rest were just chasing, whereas now you've got basically any team in the league can beat any team in the league.”
Asked about the influx of foreign players into the league, Baxter says it has been a positive move but has a warning. “I think the league has become more attractive. But you have to be careful. Does that close the door for development of home-based players or is it a stimulus like Eric Cantona coming into Manchester United and arguably being a catalyst for the Beckhams, the Butts, the Giggs's, the Scholes's - you know.
“Would have they developed in the same way without Cantona is debatable. Of course there's no 100 percent answer, but the way we want to go is a similar one where the foreign players are the right sort of players, the Cantona players and not the sort of gold diggers. They don't just pop in and pop out. They are good characters that will help home-based players to develop and we also must make sure we don't bring in too many average players where we can get the same quality in South Africa, just because it's sexy to have foreign players. I think that balance is crucial.”
SuperSport has some excellent foreign players in Dove Wome and Jeremy Brockie and Baxter was asked about this season and the future.
“This year we're trying to finish as well as we can and credit to the players for trying to do that. I'm still not sure about the balance of the squad, I'm not sure about the players, I've still got to get to know them and all the structures around the team.
“We've got to get to know each other and find a recipe for success. But so far these players turned around a season that was precarious and at one stage was threatening to become depressing. We were in a difficult situation and to turn that around, has been fantastic.
“Now we want to see how high we can go. We've also reached the semifinal of a cup, which has created a buzz around the club. But is anybody happy, no. They're not satisfied and they shouldn't be. We're just going to see how far we can go.” - African News Agency (ANA)