Ex-Kaizer Chiefs winger Tshabalala challenges Mayo after initial Bafana snub - 'No is not a rejection, cement SA place at club level'

Mayo has struggled to make the Bafana Bafana squad consistently with coach Hugo Broos preferring other players ahead of the City man.

However, former Kaizer Chiefs attacker Siphiwe Tshabalala insists it all has to do with the striker, but at club level.

In the 2022/23 season, Mayo was the Premier Soccer League's joint top scorer with Mamelodi Sundowns' seasonal striker Peter Shalulile. They both scored 12 goals.

The 25-year-old started the ongoing campaign inconsistently and paid the price by missing out on the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations squad.

Mayo had been excluded in South Africa's squad to play Andorra and Algeria in the international friendlies, but Broos changed his mind albeit after pressure from the fans.

The forward was given his chance in a 1-1 draw against Andorra but he struggled to make an impression. According to Tshabalala, there is only one way Mayo can stay in Broos' mind permanently.

"Khanyiso is a good footballer, and he has got an eye for goals and I’m happy that he got his chance,” Tshabalala said as quoted by iDiski Times.

"We must understand sometimes, a no is not a rejection. If you’re a positive person, you also take a no as ‘not now’. A no, as ‘wait, your turn will come, keep on working hard’, and he did that.

"He must just remain level-headed, work very hard, and the most important thing about cementing your place in the national team, it’s not in the national team is at club level," he added.

“If you do well at club level, definitely you will do well in the national team.”

Currently, Broos has his preferred attackers; the likes of Evidence Makgopa, Zakhele Lepasa, Lyle Foster and Percy Tau.

However, if Mayo - who has nine goals and an assist in the PSL this season, continues to score consistently, then he might force his way into Bafana's team regularly.