Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos reveals his admiration for Orlando Pirates star Relebohile Mofokeng - 'I can’t drop him now'

Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has stressed that Orlando Pirates youngster Relebohile Mofokeng cannot be dropped.

While acknowledging the midfielder-cum-winger's rather meteoric rise at Pirates, Broos said a lot is expected of him, and that may have put the player under considerable pressure.

The former Cameroon coach said he is going to keep him even though he has not been as impressive now as he was before for Bucs.

“There’s so much [noise] around Rele at the moment, teams who are interested, and certainly there’s already speaking about this [money], also the pressure on him; eight months ago nobody knew Mofokeng, and then suddenly he explodes with Pirates," Broos said as quoted by iDiski Times.

“He’s become a very good player, and everyone has expected, I don’t know what from him, but he’s only 20; he’s only playing one full year in a team like Pirates, so you see now he’s getting a little dip, the level a bit less.

“I can’t drop him now that his level is a bit lower; I will always support him, but he has to get over this; it’s up to him. He plays on a team now, who at a certain moment could have been champions, so they expect more from him than six or seven months ago," he added.

“This is the normal evolution of a young player who suddenly gets to a high level and people start to expect a lot of him, with a lot of interest… it affects you. You can’t say, Okay, it’s my agent’s to do that – somewhere in your head it becomes busy.

“Where am I going to play next year? Will I leave Pirates? Which team am I going to play for? So yeah – it’s totally normal that now Rele is not achieving the level he had a few months ago. But from my side, he will always be supported because he’s a very good player. And I knew it would happen," the coach stated.

Broos named Mofokeng in his final squad that will take on both Lesotho and Benin in the upcoming World Cup qualifiers. This is a testament of faith that the coach has for the promising South African.

The 20-year-old has eight goals and 12 assists from 35 games in the ongoing season, and much more is expected of him.

The Pirates star is also the reigning Young Footballer of the Year.

The youngster has to keep working hard and ensure he enjoys top form again, especially at the club level, in order to boost his chances of earning more national call-ups in the future.

Given the competitive level at Bafana's set-up, he has to pull up his socks if he has to break into the starting XIs and maintain his presence there.