AmaZulu coach Benni McCarthy says he opted not to retain the services of Bafana legend Siphiwe Tshabalala as the game has moved on.
The 36-year-old former Kaizer Chiefs winger joined Usuthu last season on a one-year deal but played just once as the club ended the campaign in second place.
Tshabalala had returned to South Africa after a short spell in Turley with BB Erzurumspor but has been unable to rediscover his form of old.
Ahead of facing Cape Town City in an MTN8 quarter-final clash this weekend, McCarthy said in the Sowetan: “I got a group of young talented players who won’t come through if we keep holding onto the senior players.
“I think ‘Shabba’ has been a fantastic player to have and he’s given the knowledge he had. He passed it to the team and he might feel that he could still give more, and I definitely think so.
“But for me, the way the game has evolved and how fast the game is now, you see these young boys, they run for fun.
“It’s about speed and the way we play. We play a very high pressing game and I like my front men to work really hard.
“If you don’t have that then you’ll find yourself struggling to get into the team. I think at times the pace of the game was ahead of us because Shabba is from my generation.”
McCarthy added: “You lose an icon of the game but you’re going to gain a superstar and another icon in a few years’ time. While they’re 19 give them the opportunity and that’s what I’m about.”