Stellenbosch coach Steve Barker is hell-bent on holding onto his top performers like Sibongiseni Mthethwa, Junior Mendieta and Iqraam Rayners, insisting they want to challenge for honours hence the idea of selling was no longer appealing to them.
While Mthethwa and Mendieta have been linked to Kaizer Chiefs, Rayners’s recent scintillating form is likely to spark interest from the big guns as well, despite having just returned to the Cape Winelands side in January after an indifferent three-year stint at SuperSport United.
In the off-season, Stellies cashed in on skipper Zitha Kwinika and leading striker Ashley du Preez, selling both to Amakhosi. Barker wants the club to now stop selling their stars, aiming to build a competitive side that’ll challenge for honours.
“Personally I want us to be successful. I want us to start challenging higher up the league table and be having cup runs like we have at the moment. If we want to do that, it’s important that we start becoming a team that doesn’t lose our best players,” Barker said on the sidelines of the Nedbank Cup last eight draw, where they were drawn against Mamelodi Sundowns, at SuperSport Studios in Randburg Monday night.
“We aim to retain the young players that we have that five of them are selected in the preliminary Under-23 squad plus players like Mendieta, Mthethwa and Rayners… those are the big experienced players that we have.
"It’s never easy to retain your players, but I believe if we can show what we have by having a good cup run... go all the way to the final and finish stronger in the league, our players can see that we can also compete at the highest level.”
Athenkosi Mcaba, Olwethu Makhanya, Jayden Adams, Devin Titus and Antonio van Wyk are the five Stellies players in the U-23 29-man provisional squad to face Congo Brazzaville in two crucial back-to-back CAF U-23 Olympic Qualifiers this month.
The first leg is at Dobsonville Stadium in Soweto on March 23, while the away fixture is billed for Massemba-Débat Stadium between March 26 and 27. Coach David Notoane is expected to announce the final squad early next week.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.