Bafana Bafana and Kaizer Chiefs legend Doctor Khumalo has shared his advice on how to get the best out of Orlando Pirates midfielder Sipho Mbule, who is part of the Bafana squad headed for AFCON.

At the start of December, Broos named his final 25-man AFCON squad to represent South Africa at the AFCON in Morocco later this month.

Included in the squad is Mbule, who has revived his career since joining the Sea Robbers at the start of the season. The 28-year-old is now considered a key member of Broos’ squad and has featured prominently in the Bafana’s last three matches.

Khumalo, who was part of the Bafana squad that won the AFCON in 1996 and was part of the squad that represented South Africa at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, has shared his advice on how to get the best out of Mbule.

“The unfortunate part is that it is difficult to advise such a character,” Khumalo told journalists at the Castle Lager Bafana send-off on Thursday in Johannesburg.

“You can’t tell Mbule what to do; it’s a natural talent. You can’t coach him into doing what he does.

“The only thing you can probably advise him on or coach him is the tactical discipline. But when it comes to what he dishes out on the field, it’s natural. So I can’t go out there and say to him, ‘show me your number’ or this, no. It’s natural to him; the boy has got it

“We have to give him the freedom to do what comes naturally to him, and protect him.

“What do I mean by protect? Shoes [Moshoeo], I played wide, but we had Linda and Tinkler. So he [Shoes] didn’t have to track back. We only need him, his best ability.

“So if you want him to track back also, you are probably going to be killing his ability in terms of going forward.