Giving Ntseki Bafana Bafana job was crazy, give Benni the job - Barker

Former South Africa coach Clive Barker says the quality of football displayed by the current Bafana Bafana squad “leaves a lot to be desired” and AmaZulu coach Benni McCarthy would be a “breath of fresh air” if appointed to head the national team.

Calls for Molefi Ntseki to step down from his role as Bafana coach are growing louder following Sunday’s 2-0 defeat by Sudan, which meant the country missed out on qualification for the Africa Cup of Nations finals to be hosted by Cameroon in January 2022.

Barker has joined in voicing disapproval of Ntseki's capacity to lead South Africa, a job he was thrust into after the 2019 Afcon finals, when he replaced Stuart Baxter.

“I have always said that you have to have coaches that have won things. I mean‚ not to be against coach Molefi Ntseki‚ I think his mannerisms are good and I think his intentions are good‚ but really you have got to win things. I feel for him‚” Barker told Times Live.

“I think it is terrible that we have all these facilities that we have got and just be knocked out so early. It is just crazy. The quality of football leaves quite a bit to be desired.

“I mean‚ it is crazy [the decision to appoint Ntseki]. You can’t go there and be in charge of a national team and you have never won anything.

"I can’t recall if he has won something and if he has won‚ then I do apologise. Arthur Zwane sits there and he has won all types of trophies‚ how can he go there and have a guy who has never won anything?”

Barker feels that the man to replace Ntseki should be a local coach and McCarthy would be the right man for the Bafana job.

The former Ajax Amsterdam and FC Porto striker’s experience as a coach includes a stint as a backroom staff member at Belgian side Sint-Truiden as well as being at the helm of Cape Town City and currently AmaZulu.

“I think they should have thought of maybe someone like Benni McCarthy or people like that, who can come in and turn this whole thing around,” said Barker.

“No doubt about it‚ he [McCarthy] is a breath of fresh air. He knows the game at the highest level and he has played and scored at the highest level.

"He has made his mark at national level as a player and he is now making his mark as a coach locally. He is the guy that should be able to take us forward.

“He is the flavour of the month at the moment - and he should be, too. He has done really well as a coach‚ the people respond well to him and they do it for a reason - because he has delivered the goods before.”

After taking over the reins at AmaZulu last December, McCarthy has led them to nine wins, four draws and three defeats across all competitions.

He transformed them from relegation candidates to fifth place where they are currently placed on the Premier Soccer League table.