It has long been thought that one of the stumbling blocks of the South African teams – both clubs and national – on the continent is down to the poor to the trying conditions and treatment experienced in less-advantaged countries.
For both local and international-based stars, facilities and hospitality are known to be considerably more lavish and glamourous than when travelling to some parts of Africa, which is believed to prompt sour attitudes amongst some players in camp.
Baxter understands where the criticism might have come from, given the lack of success, particularly as far as the national team goes.
“If we’ve been given a tag ‘prima donna’, I think that’s because [of] the gap between expectation and reality – the bigger the gap, the more the criticism, and the more varied the criticism,” acceded Baxter.
“And one of those criticisms is that it’s easy to say, ‘We live in South Africa, where we feel other people want to come here, and we don’t want to go there.’ You get that criticism.”
However, currently going through a transitional phase and looking to blood younger players into the senior national team setup with the help of the more experienced players, Baxter explains that this approach could potentially assist in eradicating any form of arrogance creeping in amongst the newcomers.
“I’m not sure if I agree with it [criticism] completely, but what I do want to emphasize is that the reason we talk about deepening the squad – bringing in younger players and keeping the experienced players with good attitudes – is because we want to make sure the attitudes of players are spot on,” he explained.
“We want to make sure that the players that come in from abroad don’t come in as ‘prima donnas’ or ‘big-time Charlies’ and egos. We want them to come in as good leaders that will impart their experiences to other players.
“We want to see younger players who are mentally strong, who look at being in the national team as being a challenge and an honour, not as a reward or a pat on the back.
“I’m not sure if it [the attitude] is 100 percent right, but we want to make sure and that is one of the reasons that I think it is important that we embark on this sort of strategy.
“And we need to be a bit brave, because that’s the only way we can change it. We could say, ‘Oh, dear me, we lost. Let’s go back and pick all the most experienced players to get through the next one, and I won’t be criticised.’
“But I don’t think that’s going to take us anywhere, so I want to make sure the attitude is right, and that is something we will definitely work at.”