I will not quit - Bright
Chakalisa Dube | Monday October 15, 2018 15:57
Zebras’s three nil loss to The Stallions of Burkina Faso on Saturday night heightened calls for Bright to step down, more than a year after taking over from outspoken Briton, Peter Butler.
'I'm absolutely committed to my job. The pressure is always there but I will not resign. I will fight for my country. If you push me out, it is fine I will go and enjoy life at my farm,” Bright told journalists at a press briefing in Francistown on Monday as his side prepares for the reverse fixture against Burkina Faso at the Francistown Sports Complex tomorrow evening.
Bright made it clear that the poor performance of the national team cannot be directly attributed to him or the players.
“Lack of funds for preparations is the reason we are not doing well. The BFA does not have the budget for the national team. The government is the one tasked with providing funds for the national team but does not provide enough for preparations,” said the former Mogoditshane Fighters coach, who strongly emphasised the need to inject more money in the national team.
He said issues like paying players allowances late, have a direct bearing on the results.
Meanwhile the much-traveled coach expressed optimism that the Zebras will emerge victorious against The Stallions tomorrow.
“Our players are relatively inexperienced but Burkina Faso are a beatable side. This is a must win for us but I will not put much pressure on the players. We will fight with all we have. We know what is at stake.”
The Zebras are bottom of Group I without a point and without a goal while Burkina Faso are top of the group followed by Angola and Mauritania. All the three top teams have six points and are separated by goal difference.
Zebras have mathematical chances of progressing if they win the remaining three matches and other results go their way.
Sixteen group winners and 11 runners-up will join hosts Cameroon at the 2019 finals after participating teams were increased from 16 to 24 for the 2019 competition.
Bright said that their loss in Burkina Faso was mainly due to bad officiating and some schoolboy errors owing to the inexperience of some players.
“I think the referee gave too much respect to the players. They made several questionable decisions.”
Zebras goalkeeper Kabelo Dambe, who plies his trade in the South African elite league said they intend to capitalise on Burkina Faso’s poor away record.
Burkina Faso forward, Alain Traore said that tomorrow’s match will be very exciting.
“There is a lot at stake. We want to solidify our position in the group and they want to win to keep their chances of qualifying alive. This makes tomorrow’s clash interesting but we are not under pressure,” said the RSB Berkane forward.