Desiree Ellis to use Lesotho clash to check readiness of her youthful squad

The African Champions are currently in camp where Ellis has selected mainly U17 and U20 Women’s National team players to assess them ahead of the CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in July in Morocco.

Ellis says she intentionally didn’t bring any senior players so the younger ones don’t feel any pressure.

"Look, we wanna see players play, let's not make no mistake because it's the only way you can see whether they can step up. Training shows you that they can do something and sometimes players don't perform in training and people expect the players to play but it starts at training,” Ellis said.

“So, we're hoping to see the players play and then for them to show us what they are capable of doing and if they can be added immediately or whether we need to call them in again and monitor them over a period of time.

“People think I go to games because I wanna be seen on TV but I can watch the game on TV. I want to see what's happening on the field, I want to see all the actions when players lose the ball, what are their reactions when coaches speak to them.

“I want to see all of that because it's not just about talent, it's about attitude, it's about everything because we need the whole package. We purposely didn't bring in any of the senior players because we didn't want to put the players under pressure.

“We wanted them to feel that they need to step up without there being any pressure and that is the only way we can make the core group bigger."

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The coach says she hopes the young players will take the opportunity they have been given and make good use of it.

"It's not about an achievement for me, it's about them raising their hands. It's about giving them the opportunity and them stepping up because you can give someone an opportunity and then they don't step up and it's up to them because like I said, Sibulele and Karabo grabbed it with both hands,” she added.

“If you look where they are now, Karabo is one of the best defenders in the league. So, given the opportunity they might grab it, they might not yet be ready but we will consistently make sure that we help them along the way to make sure that when we do call them up, that they are ready."