ATLANTA, GA -- South Africa captain Ronwen Williams has acknowledged that it has been painful to hear former South Africa internationals criticising the team in light of their opening World Cup defeat by Mexico last Thursday.
South Africa's build-up to their second group game -- in Atlanta against Czechia on Thursday -- has been dominated by criticism from back home at the team's approach in the opener against Mexico, with supporters and media alike expressing disappointment at the national side's timid approach.
Former internationals Teko Modise and Kermit Erasmus added their names to those saying they expected more from Bafana, given the talent available to Broos, and some of the performances the head coach has delivered during his time at the helm.
"It's difficult, you know [criticism] hurts when it comes from former professionals who know how difficult it is," captain Williams told ESPN on Wednesday.
"You can question our performance, but not our attitude and the spirit we had after going behind and playing half the game a man down.
"It wasn't easy, and we were playing the host nation, but we had the attitude to keep fighting, didn't give Mexico much, showed the character we have, and didn't give up or feel sorry for ourselves.
"We took a beating, but we keep fighting. We weren't at our best, but we can't always be at our best, and we had the right mentality. The boys can be proud, and we can be disappointed, but in today's world, everyone is an expert."
Meanwhile, at the same press conference ahead of their Czechia clash, head coach Hugo Broos dismissed criticism from the general public on social media as 'trash' as Bafana look to get their Group A campaign back on track.
Broos bore the brunt of the ire coming from supporters in the aftermath of the 2-0 defeat, with the Belgian criticised for switching to an experimental five-man defence, opting for an untested Lyle Foster-Iqraam Rayners partnership up front, and opting to leave Oswin Appollis on the bench until the 77th minute.
"After nearly 40 years coaching, I know this side of the job," Broos responded on Wednesday.
"I do it my way, and I never listen to the trash of social media, never listen to people who think they are important who criticise the team, when I see what they've done before.
"I think it should be better that they shut up. I know what went wrong, we had a debriefing, the players know it, and I think that's the most important thing.
"Tomorrow, they will want another [player] in the team, but if I don't agree, they won't be in the team."
Broos will have to change his team for Thursday's match against Czechia, with Sinethemba Sithole missing with suspension after his sending off early in the second half against Mexico.
Veteran Themba Zwane, introduced as a substitute in the opener, will also be unavailable for Bafana after being handed a three-match ban following his red card late in the opener.
Williams believes that the Czechia match can be the turning point, and begin restoring the closeness between the team and supporters back home, that has been damaged since the opener.
"Support from the country has been magnificent, and we've rebuilt that relationship that was once broken," he concluded. "For them to criticise us, is fine, but don't be disrespectful. Not everything is as it seems.
"When we lose, not everything is broken, sport always gives you another opportunity to be better, maybe [the Mexico defeat] was something that just had to happen for us to realise how to be even better.
"As a group we had a meeting about social media, about blocking out the noise, and we're just trying to be strong mentally."
Czechia also find themselves under pressure ahead of Thursday's game following an opening 2-1 defeat by South Korea, although with the best ranked third-placed teams advancing to the knockouts, defeat may not be completely fatal for either side.
Nonetheless, Broos is determined to go out and take maximum points from the match, in order not to leave themselves up against it - and potentially relying on results from elsewhere - to have a chance of progression when they face South Korea in their final group game next Wednesday.
"It's up to me to put a team on the pitch that will do it all differently," Broos revealed. "We'll be totally different tomorrow, I have no doubt.
"Our game will be better, we'll fight for 90 minutes, and then - for the result - we'll see. I'm confident we'll see [an improvement] tomorrow."