Bafana Bafana coach Stuart Baxter says his son is the best goalkeeper coach in the country after some fans accused him of nepotism.
Baxter has his back to the wall ahead of Saturday’s Afcon 2019 against Group E leaders Libya in Durban.
Already without a permanent assistant coach, the coach was unable to call on goalkeeper mentor Andre Arendse or regular helper, U20 coach Thabo Senong.
Arendse has a family commitment, while Senong is on a coaching course in Amsterdam.
The situation forced Baxter’s hand and he called up his son Lee, who currently works at Kaizer Chiefs with SA No.1 Itumeleng Khune and with back-up Ronwen Williams also benefiting under his tutelage at SuperSport United.
And Baxter defends his decision, saying: “Lee is the most qualified goalkeeper coach in this country, bar none. Lee has worked with me in Turkey and at SuperSport, with the technical team of Josh Smith.
“He is the current coach of Itu, and has worked with Ronza [Ronwen Williams], and he knows probably half the squad.
“We don’t have time, wandering around the country, interviewing people and bringing people in because there is no one – really – else that I have worked with.
“So, for the good of the country and for the good of this squad, then I don’t think that… the only thing that we were concerned about is if Chiefs – given their situation – would release him.”
Baxter has a crisis on his hands with his backroom staff changing for almost every match in his 15-month tenure.
He adds: “The inconsistencies come when when we can’t actually have a full-time person. We have to keep on taking whoever we can get, which is not perfect.
“But as long as we get people that know what I want then I’ll just get on with the job rather than worrying about... forget about getting excited and frustrated about that, because I can’t affect it too much.”