Bafana Bafana coach Stuart Baxter has explained the reason behind excluding Mamelodi Sundowns defender Thapelo Morena from his squad for the upcoming Four-Nation Tournament.

Baxter recently announced his 25-man squad to participate in a Four-Nation Tournament scheduled for Zambia from 22-25 March 2018.

Morena was not included in the squad for the tournament, having already made 23 appearances in all competitions while scoring one goal for Mamelodi Sundowns so far this season.

The Bafana mentor admits he picked Reeve Frosler over Morena in order for the youngster to gain more experience, while also calling up Ramahlwe Mphahlele, who provides a wealth of experience in defence.

‘Morena, I think, is a good player. But if I’m looking at selecting either Morena or Reeve Frosler, I’ve got to go with Reeve,’ Baxter told KickOff.com.

‘Reeve should have been at the World Cup and got that experience, and he’s been in the national setup so there’s a red line there that we bring players through.

‘So, I think that’s more important than going for Morena. I think Rama is a solid experienced player that has been there, done it and has played under me.’

The Englishman added that he had to abstain from selecting players like Luvuyo Memela to make room for the likes of Ryan Moon and Teboho Mokoena.

‘There’s a lot of players that fall into the category that I do think are good players. I’m not blind, I do see them doing well for their clubs,’ he added.

‘Like Memela has been really good for Pirates but at this point in his career, I don’t think this is the time to bring him into this sort of fixture.

‘Because then I would have to leave out a Ryan Moon or Teboho Mokoena or someone, and that’s wrong. So, yes, I do think he’s a good player but that’s the reasons he’s not got a space here.’

Bafana Bafana will take on Angola in the first match of the tournament at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium on Thursday, with kick-off set for 15:00.