Jenny van Dyk targets Africa Cup of Nations trophy

Van Dyk has taken a squad of 15 contracted players to Swakopmund, where the Proteas are considered strong favourites to dominate the continental competition. 

Speaking to SABC Sport, van Dyk expressed confidence that her squad will return home triumphant.

"Yes, the mandate we've put on ourselves is to win back that trophy. We always want to go for the win, and we're not saying it's easy," said van Dyk.

"Uganda have formidable athletes, and you get Malawi, who have now changed their coaching staff so they'll bring different players and coach to the tournament.

"And a lot of other countries that you can't throw away, it's not easy matches between the Zimbabwes and Namibia, it's definitely going to challenge us."

Van Dyk also stressed the importance of competing in Africa, expressing her desire for her young team to gain experience against continental opposition, particularly away from home.

"Playing away is always tricky business. At the end of the day, we have been playing quite a lot of the top four in the past cycle, which is important because that's the direction we're aiming towards, but it's still important for us to play [in] Africa regularly," she added.

"And also to play against all the different styles of different countries within Africa regularly, and one of the main things for me is to get the young players understanding all the different styles of all the different teams, and for them to learn in the process.

"But it's important for us to play our pool matches and get ourselves into a semi-final and final spot, and to win [the competition]."

Although van Dyk began her tenure with the Proteas on a high note, securing a dominant 3-0 victory in the Spar Challenge series against Malawi, she views the Africa Cup as her first true test, along with upcoming tours to Jamaica and the United Kingdom in January.

"It's definitely a good start for us, a step in the right direction, but there's still a lot of work that we need to get done – the tests will start now, especially with the African Cup and the Jamaica and England tours," she noted.

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