Orlando Pirates coach Roger De Sa has twisted the knife further into his Ghanaian goalkeeper Fatau Dauda implying he does not merit a place in the South African side’s starting line-up because of his unimpressive showing in training.
The latest comments of the coach could hugely damage Dauda’s chances of making it to the World Cup as his position in the Black Stars is under scrutiny because of the lack of playing time in South Africa.
This comes just four weeks after De Sa claimed that the Ghanaian shot-stopper must look for playing time elsewhere – a statement that angered the club.
The 28-year-old has been under intense pressure from the Ghanaian media over his bench role at Pirates which resulted in comments that he should be excluded from the Black Stars squad for the World Cup in June.
Supporters of the South African giants have been piling pressure on De Sa for Dauda to be given the starting role after the first choice goalkeeper Meyiwa leaked goals badly.
But the Pirates coach says he has chosen Meyiwa as the first choice because of the impressive showing.
“Dauda is on the bench based on what I see at training. We don’t pick based on media stories. You guys don’t see what we see,” the Orlando Pirates coach said on Monday night after their 2-1 win over Ajax Cape Town in a PSL match.
“If Dauda is good enough to be on the bench he will be, and if he is sharp enough to play then he will.”
Dauda has not played a competitive match for Pirates since joining them from Ghanaian side AshGold in August.