NEW Bafana Bafana head coach Stuart Baxter will not have any time to hang his favourite pictures on his new office wall when he goes to Safa House for the first time today.
Baxter will have to hit the ground running and leave the decorating for a later stage. He will be too busy finalising his first squad to play Nigeria in the opening 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Uyo on 10 June. The coach will name his first squad on Thursday.
He said: “I will be going to the office for the first time tomorrow (Wednesday) and will be getting straight to work. I will have to start by phoning a few players who are in the squad and a few who are not going to make the squad. And there will be a hundred other things that will need my attention, so it’s going to be a busy couple of days.”
This will be Baxter’s second stint as national coach. He was in charge of Bafana from 2004-05.
He said he was expecting plenty of pressure but was up for the challenge and knew the criteria for selection: “If you can’t handle the pressure you should not be in this profession. I know there will be tons of opinions about the squad. I accept that everyone has their own opinion but I have to stand or fall by my selections.”
The out-going SuperSport United coach has been getting as much information on Nigeria as possible: “I have asked Safa to get me the last three games Nigeria played plus their friendly this week against Corsica.”
Baxter is not afraid of Nigeria, who have a number of superstars: “Whether the Nigeria coach (Gernot Rohr) will pick the stars like Victor Moses and John Obi Mikel, stick the younger players or a combination of both I don’t know, but we will be ready and will go for it.”
He will return to SuperSport to guide United in the Nedbank Cup final on 24 June once the Nigeria clash and a friendly Bafana have lined up at home on 13 June are completed.
Baxter is thrilled Matsatsantsa a Pitori have reached the final.
“It will be my last game for the club but it will be about the players not me, they are the ones who deserve credit for getting to the final,” he said.
United will face Orlando Pirates in a repeat of last year’s final at Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium.
