STELLENBOSCH FC coach Steve Barker has insisted that the transfer speculation surrounding winger Lelethu Skelem will not be affecting his performances.
The 22-year-old has been linked with a move to Kaizer Chiefs, identified as one of the targets for the Soweto giants.
Chiefs, who will have served their two-window Fifa transfer ban at the end of the season, will be looking to bolster their squad which has so far struggled this campaign.
And Skelem is said to be on coach Gavin Hunt’s shopping list.
“I think it’s important to firstly manage the person before you manage the player in this situation,” said Barker.
“Lelethu has had a lot of challenges of late and we are here to support him. He is our player until the end of the season and beyond and so it just about giving him the confidence and allowing him to keep developing into the footballer we know he can be for us.
“We don’t let the noise get too much in the way of things, Lelethu just needs to keep working hard and we are here to support him and allow him to keep growing as a person and as a footballer. He is committed to the club, he just needs to continue working hard to get himself into the starting eleven."
