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Will Baxter turn to his son again?

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Lee Baxter (left), Molefi Ntseki (centre) and Stuart Baxter (right) during a Bafana Bafana training session prior to SA’s Afcon qualifier against Libya in September last year Picture: Gerhard Duraan / BackpagePix
Lee Baxter (left), Molefi Ntseki (centre) and Stuart Baxter (right) during a Bafana Bafana training session prior to SA’s Afcon qualifier against Libya in September last year Picture: Gerhard Duraan / BackpagePix

Bafana Bafana coach Stuart Baxter is apparently toying with the idea of roping in his son, Lee Baxter, as the national team’s goalkeeper trainer at Afcon in Egypt, City Press has reliably been informed.

That is, if SuperSport United keeper coach, Andre Arendse, won’t be available to continue in the role he has been holding for the better part of the 2019 Afcon qualifiers.

It remains to be seen what will happen should Arendse get enlisted by pay channel SuperSport as one of their analysts during the broadcast of Afcon.

Baxter previously plugged the gap with his son who is also a Kaizer Chiefs keeper coach in a move that elicited a serious uproar from the media and the public.

The move overshadowed Bafana’s build-up to their Afcon qualifier that ended goalless against Libya in Durban in September last year.

Efforts by City Press to reach Arendse this week were in vain as his phone rang unanswered and he did not respond to text messages.

However, his club said they have not yet received a request by Safa for the services of their specialist trainer but the club said they have always released Arendse for national duty whenever there’s a call-up.

Safa acting chief executive, Russell Paul, said, “I can’t deny or confirm that” when City Press asked him about the likely additions to the Bafana technical staff for Afcon.

“The coach hasn’t given us his final list as yet and we’ll be able to make a final announcement based on his recommendations,” said Paul.

Baxter already stirred a hornets’ nest and drew mixed reactions by hinting that he was earmarking former Bafana midfielder, Quinton Fortune, for the dual role of assistant and scout at the June 21 to July 19 continental championships.

Baxter, who currently has Molefi Ntseki as his assistant, indicated immediately after the Afcon draw a fortnight ago that he would bring in a second deputy coach to double as a scout at the 24-nation tournament.

The technical bench at Bafana’s last official game against Libya last month was made up of Ntseki (assistant), Arendse (goalkeeper coach) and Joshua Smith (physical trainer).

The senior national team technical staff has not been consistent since Baxter took over the reins from Shakes Mashaba in May 2017.

Fortune (41), who is the ambassador of his former club Manchester United, previously served as Baxter’s deputy during the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign.

Shaun Bartlett also held the role alongside Ntseki during the 2019 Afcon qualifiers after Thabo Senong opted to remain with the Under-20s whom he has guided to this year’s youth World Cup in Poland.

Bartlett was not retained after taking up a full-time role as Ernst Middendorp’s right-hand man at Chiefs.

Asked during a media briefing if he would consider any of the PSL coaches for the role, with particular reference to Mamelodi Sundowns’ coach, Pitso Mosimane, Baxter said: “We haven’t given a thought to any of the PSL coaches coming on board, not because they don’t have anything to add, in fact, many of them would.

“Pitso is experienced [but] it’s a question of who do you want and all sorts of different issues.

“We’ll try and keep the rest of the staff for continuity Z such as the sport scientist, physical coach and the doctor.”

Thinking within the football fraternity is that Mosimane would not be very keen to take up a role secondary to Baxter’s at Bafana Bafana since he still feels he has an unfinished job there and indications are that he still nurses ambitions of one day returning as national coach.

Meanwhile, Paul said Baxter indicated during their meeting on Wednesday that he would like to line up a few friendly matches and utilise the senior Cosafa Cup in Durban in May/June for his preparations for Afcon.

Safa is set to make official announcements this coming week, said Paul.

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Give a name and reasons of who should Bafana Bafana coach Stuart Baxter rope in as his second assistant at Afcon and why?

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