Neo Maema vows to do more following Bafana Bafana snub

He was once again snubbed by coach Hugo Broos in the latest 35-man preliminary squad, which is to be trimmed down ahead of facing Morocco in an AFCON qualifier this month, although both sides have already secured their qualification.

Maema is taking the omission positively. 

"I think Neo should do a little bit more. Neo should continue to seek deeper into himself, because some things are very spiritual – I'm a very spiritual person,"

"If the 35 men in the squad get call-ups, I think they deserve to be there and, as a South African citizen and player who loves football so much, I can only support them because one of them might actually be an answered prayer, so who am I fighting – God or man?"

The 27-year-old accepts he might not be what Broos is looking for in the national team, but he insists he won't stop aiming to improve and get the nod in the future.

"I did a lot of introspection of how I play, for starters, and I noticed maybe it's not how the national team plays – like the players in midfielder for Bafana Bafana," he added.

"But then it's more about keeping my feet grounded and realising, 'You know what, you can be more consistent' for my club Mamelodi Sundowns.

"As much as you continue to work hard, make sure you're actually consistent in all the games and try to keep the standard up because now I'm actually trying to be better than yesterday, and that's how I see it."