Spirits high in Bafana camp

Listen to the full interview here, or read the story below.

The likes of Kaizer Chiefs defender Lorenzo Gordinho will be hoping to make his international debut on the back of some impressive domestic form. Another player having a great season at club level is Cape Town City midfielder Lebohang Manyama.

The duo spoke to the media on Tuesday ahead of Saturday’s clash against Guinnea-Bissau at the Moses Mabhida Stadium.

The new man Gordinho hammered home the importance of working hard in training as he eyes a more permanent spot in the national setup.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to be included in the squad and I’m excited to get going,” he said.

“I want to be consistent in my performances from club into the national team. Like the coach said, I want to enjoy myself and work hard.”

“It’s important for every South African player to be part of the national team; everyone wants to play for their country. It will be a good achievement for me to be a regular in the squad, but nothing is certain so I have to work hard, perform well and be consistent.”

On the opposite side of the spectrum, Manyama returns to the Bafana fold on the back of a stream of solid performances for his club. He last played for Bafana back in 2013 and hopes to make an impact in the next few weeks.

“It’s very exciting and always an honour to be here – I’m looking forward to the challenge and hopefully I’ll get a few goals for the national team.”

“Firstly, for a change this is probably the longest I’ve been without an injury. The will to improve every day and obviously the support I got from my teammates helped a lot. At the end of the day it’s reward for all the hard work,” Manyama said of his national call-up.

The 26-year-old also believes he has had the season of his life – which earned him a Bafana lifeline.

“Individually, I think this has been my best season. In terms of the team, we had a great season with the Ajax team that came second when we still had Tulani and Tyson in the team. But individually, this has probably been my best so far.

With seven international caps and over 100 top flight matches under his belt, Manyama believes he has the experience to deal well with pressure.

“Every footballer would agree that every game brings pressure. There are never easy games. For me, I’ve been playing long enough to know how I must approach games. Games are never the same, you have to prepare the same way and take it seriously. It’s just about going there and enjoying myself,” Manyama said.

Bafana take on Guinnea-Bissau at 15h00 on Saturday at the Moses Mabhida Stadium.