Steve Barker downplays Jayden Adams’ Bafana omission

The player was dropped from the national team by coach Hugo Broos, who alleged it was a “discipline” issue when Adams failed to report for camp in Gqeberha.

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Barker started the 23-year-old on the bench in the Carling Knockout win against AmaZulu on Friday, but says the incident is in the “past”.

''I think it is not fair to comment on the Bafana camp. I think it has past and it's gone. Jayden is obviously a very talented footballer, at the end of the window - there was a lot of talks about a major move and obviously not being selected at Bafana camp, so it is not an easy period for him. He is a quality footballer, he just needs to get back and do what he is capable of doing.  I thought he came on and calmed the game down for us, and settled the game, he was really good on the ball. Sometimes you just need to be there for players and help them through some difficult moments. But he is key for us and I am sure he will bounce back and fight for his place in the Bafana team,'' said Barker.

Newly signed Chumani Butsaka again got the nod ahead of Adams and Barker insisted this also had nothing to do with the Bafana saga.

''I've been a long admirer of  Chumani. I've seen him grow up, even in the NFD days - he was still a youngster coming through the Spurs Academy. We played a lot of friendly games against them. I've been an admirer of him, wanted him to join our club, but obviously he was also in the PSL - so it wasn't easy at that stage. Obviously when they got relegated-  we did open the door to bring him in. The idea was to have as many quality players as we can have, you could see today that it was needed. That ability to bring on Jayden after Chumani started - it is key for us. So he wasn't bought in with that in mind, but we are very happy with his contribution and what he can do for the club,'' added Barker.

Stellies are now through to the quarterfinals after eliminating AmaZulu thanks to attacker Andre de Jong’s winning goal in extra time.

Barker shares his thoughts on the encounter.

''Nice to be the first team in the last eight, will see what the draw has for us on Sunday. Coming into the first half - I thought there was only one team and that was us. Especially the first 15 -20 minutes. We were really dominant, we came in at half time, and at 12 - we hit shots against one, we deserved the goal. But when you're that dominant you have to get another goal, which makes you a lot more comfortable and makes life easier. To be fair the last 20min of the second half - it could have gone anywhere - AmaZulu applied a lot of pressure, they would probably feel outdone by that,'' he expressed.

The victory helped Stellenbosch bounce back after losing the MTN8 final to Orlando Pirates under controversial circumstances.

Barker said the FIFA recess had come at the right time.