Ahead of today’s qualifying match against Sudan, Bafana Bafana head coach Shakes Mashaba has lashed out at media reports which described him as the “cheap option” for the national team job.

The 64-year-old, who is in his second stint in charge of Bafana, was chosen ahead of Portuguese mentor Carlos Queiroz and Nigeria’s Africa Cup of Nations-winning coach Stephen Keshi to the position.

Fresh from guiding the Under-20 team to qualification for the 2015 African Youth Championships, the new former Moroka Swallows midfielder responded to his critics press briefing on Monday.

“This (the Bafana job) is nothing new to me. I have been in this chair before, and being here again is just a complement.

“I don’t usually buy newspapers, but I have recently started to do so, why? Because I want to see what the critics are saying. Some of the criticisms we read about in the newspapers are uncalled for, and they seem to be personal.

“If you criticise me because you think you’re breaking me down, you’re wasting your time. I take that and convert it into positives.”

He added: “Some of the criticisms we read about in the newspapers are uncalled for, and they seem to be personal. The one about me being cheap is really insulting. I will the match against Sudan to silence my critics.