Cape Town City head coach Eric Tinkler has responded to criticism by Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos on striker Khanyisa Mayo.
Broos, in his usual forthright manner, criticized Mayo shortly after announcing his squad for the Bafana Bafana FIFA Series of international friendlies against Andorra and Algeria.
The Belgian surprisingly admitted that he decided to finally give the 25-year-old a call-up because other strikers were injured, going on to express his reservations about the 2022/23 DStv Premiership joint-top scorer 'disappearing' in matches and not being involved enough in the play.
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"I find that Mayo is sometimes really out of the game. You're looking for him, but you don't see him; he's there, but no action, nothing. You can't be like that as a striker, certainly not on the level that we play," Broos told the media.
Ahead of City's home DStv Premiership encounter against Kaizer Chiefs on Saturday at Athlone Stadium, Tinkler weighed in on Broos' comments regarding Mayo and somewhat concurred with the Belgian after conceding that he needs to work on his work-rate.
"Work-rate, I think I've said this to the media before. When Mayo works extremely hard and plays with a high intensity and he's active in terms of his game, then Mayo is a good striker," Tinkler told reporters at the Citizens' Open Media Day this week.
"Getting that out of him consistently, that's always going to be a challenge," he added, before explaining how to get the best out of him.
"By being on top of him constantly. You've got to be on top of him. But the good thing is he listens. He's willing to listen."
Mayo started in Bafana's 1-1 draw against Andorra, before he was replaced in the last 10 minutes by Iqraam Rayners, but the roles were reversed against Algeria in a 3-3 draw after he came off the bench in the last 10 minutes in place of Rayners.
The former Orlando Pirates tactician was asked when Mayo would be expected back in Cape Town, casting doubt on his readiness for the game against Amakhosi.
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"The trip to Algeria we've experienced, it's tough. Two hours from where he is to the airport, six-hour flight to Dubai, four-hour lay-over in Dubai, eight-hour flight to Joburg, two-hour lay-over in Joburg, another two-hour flight (to Cape Town)," explained the former Bafana midfielder.
"So, it begs the question, is he gonna be ready or not?"
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