South Africa coach tells critics to shut up

ATLANTA: South Africa coach Hugo Broos told critics of his tactics in last week’s World Cup opener to shut up and insisted he would continue to do things his way when planning for Thursday’s Group A clash against the Czech Republic.

There was an outcry in South Africa when Broos took a rare defensive approach in last Thursday’s opening game against Mexico, which the team lost 2-0 without creating any genuine chances of their own.

They also finished down to nine men with two players sent off in the second half and left little positive impression.

“I’ve been a coach for 40 years and I know it’s a part of the job that you will be criticised. So for the moment, I’m criticised but people have to know … and for those who still don’t know it … I do it my way,” Broos said at a press conference on Wednesday.

“I never listen to the trash of the social media. I never listen to people who feel they are important enough to criticise the team. When I look back at what they achieved before I think it should be better that they shut up,” he said in a reference to former player pundits.

“I know what went wrong against Mexico. The players know it and that’s the most important thing and for the rest I will do it my way,” Broos repeated.

The veteran Belgian coach said it was imperative that South Africa win on Thursday in Atlanta to stand any chance of advancing. The Czechs also lost their first Group A game to South Korea last week.

“I think our situation is clear. If we don’t win tomorrow, we play our last game against South Korea for nothing.

“This is something we must avoid. We know the mistakes we made in the first game, and some people said the coach is too soft on his players, but I don’t like to blame my players in front of a camera. So sometimes you have to lie a little bit as a coach.”

Broos had said after the Mexico match that he felt his team could take confidence from the performance, also prompting derision among South African supporters.

“We know what went wrong in the game against Mexico, and we will try to improve that tomorrow, but we can only improve that if we have the ball,” he added, giving some insight into the possibility of a different tactical approach on Thursday.