Former Bafana Bafana midfielder and Dumisa Ngobe has addressed the question about top PSL star Themba Zwane's performances in national team colours.
The Orlando Pirates legend reckons coaches might be the reason the 2019/20 PSL Footballer of the Season doesn't seem to shine for South Africa the way he does at Mamelodi Sundowns.
Ngobe says what made things easy for him during his Bafana days is that they were not made to change the way they played at their own clubs.
"The problem might be with the coaching because how we used to play from our teams, they were emphasising even when we were in the national team," Ngobe tells snl24.com/kickoff.
"They were only encouraging us to do what we were good at. Whatever motivation we received, it was because of what we were good at. They were not changing the style of play that we were playing.
"So if Themba Zwane is not playing the same way it means there is a change of style of play. They are not letting him express his style of play."
Check out the guard of honour the PSL Footballer of the Season received at Chloorkop
Ngobe explains: "When I was with the national team I never intended to play central defence because they had central defenders there, it was only done at Pirates. The challenge that we have is that you select a player for the national team having seen him excelling in a certain position at his club, but play him in a different position once he is with the national team. That is why we have problems.
"We are not selecting players according to positions, because he is playing well at his team we select him for the national team, without looking if there's a space in the position that he plays in. Because of that we end up putting him in a different position just to accommodate him.
"In our days we didn't have such a problem. If I can recall Clive Barker, he was using one team, I don't know for how long. Before I played in the national team I was developed. I was training with the national team, doing things with the national team. They kept telling me, 'Your time will come.'
"I received many call-ups just to sit on the Bafana bench and learn. So it was a process. But nowadays we call players and play them same time without considering if they are ready or not. Clive had a foundation."