Bafana Bafana legend Aaron Mokoena is sad to see Stuart Baxter vacate his position as South Africa head coach.
The British tactician resigned with immediate effect at a press conference which took place in Houghton, Gauteng on Friday.
It was the news most football fans had been expecting after South Africa were knocked out of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in the quarter-finals by Nigeria last month.
Former South Africa captain Mokoena, who worked with Baxter during his first spell as Bafana coach, reflected on the 65-year-old's resignation.
"To be honest, it is quite sad because he is an experienced coach, but life goes on," Mokoena told Goal.
"I worked with Baxter. He understood me as a player and I also know what kind of a coach he is.
It was reported Baxter was seriously considering quitting as Bafana coach last year as he was unhappy with how things are done at the South African Football Association (Safa).
However, the former Kaizer Chiefs manager stayed on and guided the southern African giants to the 2019 Afcon finals after masterminding a qualifying win over Libya in March this year.
"I guess certain things did not work out during his second spell with the national team. We have to accept it," stressed Mokoena, who remains South Africa's record holder for international appearances with 107 caps to his name.
"Well, it is up to Safa to decide, who is the right person to fill the void left by Baxter. We need someone, who can take us forward.
Former South Africa under-23 coach Owen Da Gama is amongst many who have come out in favour of Baxter being replaced with a local coach.
Mokoena also feels it is time for Safa to appoint a local coach ahead of the 2021 Afcon qualifiers which are scheduled to start in November 2019.
"People have been calling for a local coach to placed in charge of Bafana Bafana for quite a while now," the former Blackburn Rovers player added.
"I also think it time for us to give a local coach a chance to lead our national team and see if it works out."
The last local coach to lead Bafana was Ephraim 'Shakes' Mashaba, who was replaced by Baxter after being fired for “gross misconduct and violation of the Safa communications policy."