Although he's wished Shaun Bartlett well on his new role at Kaizer Chiefs, national team coach Stuart Baxter has also admitted the new developments at Naturena are a setback for Bafana Bafana.
Bartlett was appointed Amakhosi assistant coach on Monday, becoming part of the changes in the technical team following the arrival of Ernst Middendorp last week just hours after Giovanni Solinas was fired.
It was in October ahead of Bafana's back-to-back 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Seychelles that Bartlett was confirmed as Baxter's second in command, potentially ending a long search for a permanent assistant.
"I think Shaun will be a fantastic coach at Chiefs, but I was hoping we could still have an arrangement with the club to have him help us," Baxter said.
The Siya crew reported yesterday that Bartlett's new contract with the Glamour Boys precluded him from working as TV pundit for SuperSport – and a source has also confirmed that the same applies for his Bafana job.
He was working for the national team on a camp-by-camp basis.
"I can understand Shaun's position because this is something permanent, and I wish him well," Baxter said.
"It does mean we are back to square one and the associations and I will have to now look into getting someone in again before our next game."
Baxter has in the past said that financial constraints have delayed the appointment of a permanent Bafana assistant coach.
