Cape Town – Sierra Leone had their full complement of players for the very first time when they conducted their final practice session at FNB Stadium on Friday, but their coach John Keister remains unfazed.
The training session took place just hours before the visitors face Bafana Bafana in a friendly international at FNB stadium (kick-off is at 3pm) on Saturday but Keister maintains this has not caused any instability within his team.
“I don’t want to make excuses. Yes, some team members only arrived this morning [on Friday] via Ghana, but we know what we need to do and we also want to win,” Keister said to Safa media.
Steven Caulker, the Sierra Leone captain, said he was brought in to steer the ship and as is the case with Bafana Bafana, Saturday’s match is about blooding the players that will take the team forward.
“The coach brought me in and we are clear about what we need to do and build, and I am happy to be a part of that. We are rebuilding,” says the 30-year-old skipper.
While Keister has watched the South African team closely, he declined to share his views about certain players.
“I’m not watching the team nor the changes but merely recognizing that what coach Hugo Broos is doing with the national team, we are also doing," said the Manchester-born Keister.
"We are trying to give the younger players a chance and see how they perform and it is not really so much about the now, but about the future.”
IOL Sport