Stellenbosch coach Steve Barker says the sale of key players over the last season comes with bittersweet emotions, particularly after they were given short shrift in the MTN8 final at the weekend.
Stellenbosch have earned a reputation for producing, or finding, exciting players and the club’s coffers have been swelled over the years with the sale of the likes of Jayden Adams, Fawaaz Basadien, Junior Mendieta and Iqraam Rayners to champions Mamelodi Sundowns; Ashley du Preez, Zitha Kwinika and Sibongiseni Mthethwa to Kaizer Chiefs; Sihle Nduli and Dean van Rooyen to Orlando Pirates and youthful defenders Olwethu Makhanya to Philadelphia Union in Major League Soccer and Tylon Smith to Queens Park Rangers in England.
Losing that many key players over the last seasons has not been easy, Barker admitted.
“To be frank and honest, it's bittersweet. You know, on the one hand, you have players, they go on and earn the better living and move to better opportunities,” he said.
“So when you see Sihle Nduli becoming a pillar of strength for Pirates in the heart of the midfield, that's the sweet part in seeing them develop, seeing them grow match after a match.
“When Sihle comes to me and it's almost he's got tears in his eyes (after Saturday’s MTN8 final). He is upset on my behalf. You just want him to do well.”
But Barker said he could have done with one or two of his old stars in the final loss to Orlando Pirates at the Mbombela Stadium.
“The less positive side is making cup finals, but you've lost maybe four key players over the last season. You look at (the MTN8 final) performance and you think, ‘You know what? There's potential in this team of mine, and we will grow, we will develop, we'll get better’. And a lot of those players will also show themselves going forward, but you sometimes you wish it would it be nice to maybe have one or two of those players we’ve sold, because they’ve got experience.
“So yeah, it's bittersweet in terms of that but I don't have any regrets. I wish them well.
“And this group of players will again rise to occasion. We've got work to do in the league. You know, we want to make sure that if we want to be in the top eight again, we have to get ourselves up the log table so that's going to be key.”
Stellenbosch are away at AmaZulu on Wednesday and then have home fixtures against Richards Bay on Saturday and Durban City next Wednesday.
