Pitso Mosimane urged to retain Helman Mkhalele in Bafana Bafana staff

Gavin Lane says it would benefit Pitso Mosimane to keep Helman Mkhalele in the Bafana Bafana technical team if, as expected, he is appointed South Africa’s next head coach.

The South African Football Association (SAFA) is expected to confirm Mosimane’s appointment in the coming days, but uncertainty remains over whether Mkhalele will continue in his role.

Mkhalele has worked as an assistant coach under Hugo Broos throughout the Belgian’s tenure as national team manager. However, Mosimane has often preferred to operate with his own technical staff, leaving the future of Broos’s right-hand man unclear.

Lane, an Orlando Pirates legend, believes Mkhalele’s experience and understanding of the current national-team players could prove valuable to Mosimane.

“It’s difficult to say exactly what should be the way forward because even in countries like England and so on when a new manager comes in he brings his own technical staff,” Lane told KickOff.

The former Pirates player noted that Mosimane and Mkhalele are already familiar with one another, having either played alongside or against each other at some stage of their careers.

“But I think Pitso Mosimane and Helman Mkhalele are no strangers to each other, they’ve either played with or against each other at some point, I think.”

Lane also suggested that Mkhalele could offer Mosimane insight into the players who have been assessed by the national team during Broos’s time in charge.

“I think Pitso would love to get some knowledge from Helman on players him and Hugo Broos have been watching for the last few years.

“READ |SAFA NEC approve Broos’ successor for Bafana”

Mkhalele’s continued involvement, Lane said, would therefore provide continuity and additional knowledge as the national team moves into a new era.

“So if I was Pitso, I would definitely keep Helman Mkhalele on because I think his knowledge of the players and the understanding will come in handy.

“So I really believe it would be beneficial for Pitso to keep Helman around.”

The possibility of Mosimane taking charge comes as SAFA prepares to move on from Broos, whose successor has been approved by the association’s National Executive Committee.

Mosimane’s likely arrival has also prompted discussion about the balance between bringing in a new manager’s preferred staff and retaining members of the existing setup. Lane’s recommendation is that Mkhalele should remain, particularly because of his familiarity with the players monitored by Broos and the wider national-team environment.

A separate discussion has also focused on Mosimane’s experience, with Mashego saying the coach is now more experienced. However, the immediate question for the incoming manager will be whether Mkhalele remains part of his technical team once the appointment is formally announced.