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Desiree Ellis wants to raise Banyana Banyana bar after Vera Pauw exit

Ellis expressed this goal to the media after the side trained in Randburg, Johannesburg on Thursday.

The squad is preparing for a friendly against Egypt on Saturday at Dobsonville Stadium. Kick-off is at 15h00 and entry is free.

Ellis took over the reins this month from Pauw, and is being assisted by Maude Khumalo and Cheryl Botes.

“When you are young you dream of playing for your national team, and for me it happened when I was 30. Then you dream to coach your national team and it’s more than a dream come true that it has happened, I am living the dream. I would like to say thank you to SAFA for having the faith in me, not only myself but also Maude Khumalo and Cheryl Botes, who are part of the technical team. We will try to take the team forward,” said Ellis.

The former Banyana captain believes in her abilities.

“If I didn’t believe I wouldn’t be here, and when I talk about belief I can take you back to Equatorial Guinea in 2015. After we drew here at home, everybody thought that was it, we were not going to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. But as a group we believed, and because of that belief we knew in the first 20 minutes that we were not going to lose. You have to have belief, and if you don’t have it, you have nothing,” added Ellis.

“The only way you can change the mentality of those who don’t believe in us is to get good results, and get the team to play positive football, to win matches. In life you will always have people who do not believe, you will always have people who don’t have faith in you but as a player I have been dropped three or four times in the national team, and the attitude I showed to get into the team, to go on and captain the team – I have that attitude in life as well because I cannot change things I am unable to change but I will control the ones I can change.”

Ellis said she learnt a lot by working under Pauw for over two years.

“During my playing days we just did things, but what I have learnt from her is that everything comes down to the small details. I spoke to her the other day and she said, jokingly, that I should not try to be her. She went on to say I know you can do it. I had a fantastic relationship with her,” said Ellis.

“We obviously cannot throw away what former coach Joseph Mkhonza did in 2012 because he set the pace. Vera Pauw came in and set the bar a bit higher, and now the challenge for us is to set it even higher – that is what we want to do, we want to get South African to highest level.”

Ellis is confident they will do well against Egypt tomorrow.

“Every coach wants to win their match, but at the end of the day you also want to see positive signs on the field, are we playing together as a team because teamwork is very important – we can get the result playing well, and sometimes you have to play ugly to win. But the fact is players are entertainers so sometimes it is important that they play decent football for all the people that come and watch.”

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