Polokwane – Congo-Brazzaville coach Claude le Roy on Tuesday hit back at Shakes Mashaba for what he perceived to be disrespectful comments ahead of last weekend's Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Pointe Noire.
Le Roy reacted angrily to Mashaba's thoughts on the Congo goalkeeper, Chancel Massa.
Mashaba singled out the shot-stopper as the weak link in the Congo line-up, something Le Roy refuted.
“The other coach said our goalkeeper is not very good, and that they know how to beat Congo, because if we do not score in the first 10 minutes, we do not do anything,” Le Roy said at Congo's final training session ahead of Wednesday's fixture.
“That is completely stupid, because we didn't score (in the first 10 minutes) against Nigeria, they scored the first goal (Congo went on to win 3-2 in Calabar).
“I don't like it when coaches say a lot of things. It is important to talk to journalists before a game and to keep a lot of humility. Football is a school of humility.”
Bafana beat Congo 2-0 in Pointe Noire to go top of group A of the qualifiers.
“I respect everybody from the bench and never said one word about their coach,” he said.
“Especially a coach who is new at the highest level after a long time must keep his humility.”
Back to matters on the pitch, Le Roy predicted a tough test for his Congo team, who trail South Africa by a point at the half-way stage of the qualifying campaign.
“We know it will be a difficult, tough game, because Bafana are a good team and have a lot of good players,” Le Roy said.
“But if we won in Calabar, that means we can also do something in Polokwane.” – Sapa