Molefi Ntseki concerned over Percy Tau’s lack of game time

With Bafana Bafana set to reassemble in the next two months, national coach Molefi Ntseki has expressed concern over the form of one of his star players, Percy Tau.

The striker is plying his trade in Belgium, where he is on loan at Club Brugge from English Premier League outfit, Brighton and Hove Albion.

Tough spell for Bafana star

He has, however, seen very little game time of late, and has not lasted the full 90 minutes in weeks.

Ntseki, who will need the 25-year-old fit and firing again this year, as South Africa seek to qualify for both the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Cameroon and the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar, has expressed concern at the player’s lack of match fitness.

“Look, it is a worry for every player that you have in Bafana Bafana if he is not playing at club level,” Ntseki admitted.

“It becomes an issue and it becomes a problem because you want to see your players playing regularly.

“You want to see your players affecting the game wherever they are.

“You want to see your players defending in terms of the defensive roles. You want to see them scoring goals or assisting whenever they are in an offensive role. “If you have a players who is not playing you become worried.”

Molefi Ntseki

Work overload taking its toll on Percy Tau

Tau did not have much of an offseason, as he was a regular for Bafana in the recent Afcon tournament in Egypt, where they finished in the quarterfinals.

Ntseki believes this, along with the congested schedule that followed, may have been a contributing factor to his loss of form.

“In this case, I think Percy Tau overloaded himself by playing the Uefa Champions League and trying very hard and at the same time coming into the national team and also trying very hard,” Ntseki said.

“The game we played against Ghana in Ghana and the one we played against Sudan in South Africa if you look at the programme, it took a lot of energy out of our players. Most of them struggled when they went back to their teams overseas because South Africa is different.

“If you are from Ghana, it will be less than six hours to get to any European country where you are playing.

“If you are in South Africa, it is 12 plus hours to get to your team. The traveling itself, the load that you put into your game, also affects some of our players.”

Molefi Ntseki

Tau faces another busy year internationally, as he will look to help Bafana qualify for the World Cup.

South Africa have been drawn in a tough Group G for the tournament, along with Ghana, Zimbabwe, and Ethiopia.