CALL it a lack of ambition, or of motivation . . .
But Seychelles coach Gavin Jeanne has no concerns seeing his winless team rooted to the bottom of group E in their Africa Cup of Nations group qualifiers.
The Indian Ocean minnows have so far conceded 14 goals in three qualifier matches, without reply.
Bafana Bafana inflicted yet another heavy defeat on them, hitting them for SIX at FNB Stadium at the weekend.
Such a record is enough to have a coach fired on the spot in other parts of the footballing world.
But certainly not in Seychelles where ambition matches the reality that they do not have a team competitive enough to win against some of the continent’s top nations.
“From the onset, we were not thinking about qualifying but about testing ourselves at the highest level,” Jeanne said.
“Getting in a group with South Africa, Nigeria and Libya, we knew it was always going to be tough. The main objective was not about qualification but to measure ourselves against the best. It’s very difficult to qualify.
“But still, losing by six goals is a very bad score, even if we are a small nation.
“But it’s an experience for us. We never get to play against such a top team every day.
“In every single match we play there’s always something positive, although we struggle to find as many positives. We were not scared to get on the field.
“It was a difficult game against tactically good players. We struggled with movements, with combinations. We tried to adjust in many ways.”
Dressed in a black shirt, fawn pants and a matching ayas cap, Jeanne cut a despondent figure as he watched his hapless Pirates being bullied by Bafana.
So poor were Seychelles that they couldn’t create a single scoring opportunity nor have a shot at goal.
But Jeanne said his charges would “turn up” tomorrow.
The main objective is to score a goal against Bafana.
He said: “We have to find ways to recover so that we can play our next game. We don’t have as many players who can play at this level. But we will be ready for the return match.”
