Frenchman Philippe Troussier has found himself tangled in a war of words with South African newspapers as he attempts to put a squad together for a difficult assignment in France. Troussier had been accused of running a military-style training camp, which one newspaper called ``The camp from hell''. He is also accused of bullying and insulting players during a three-day gathering of locally-based candidates for his squad.

The attacks followed his refusal to talk to reporters on his return from a European tour, during which time he had looked over the growing foreign legion of South African players in countries like England, Germany, Italy and Turkey.

Troussier also antagonised the media by conducting a press conference in his native French, having competently spoken to journalists in English in previous interviews, and then stirred up emotions bythreatening to leave star striker Benedict McCarthy out of the team for France.

The 20-year-old Ajax Amsterdam forward emerged as the country's new soccer hero in February, scoring seven goals and being named the best player at the African Nations Cup finals in Burkina Faso. But Troussier, who seems to revel in an acrimonious atmosphere, has said McCarthy's lack of first team appearances with the Dutch champions this season would count against his chances of making the starting line-up for France. While recent weeks have seen an attempt at patching up the relationship, the coach remains under microscopic attention in a country with an overwhelming, if often misdirected, passion for the game.

Certainly the national team's qualification for the World Cup has stirred up massive expectation.

And Troussier, who took over the job in March, has predicted his team could be one of the surprise packages of the finals.

South Africa open their campaign with a meeting against hosts France in Marseille and alsohave to contend with Denmark and Saudi Arabia in a difficult Group C. ``But there is no reason why we cannot get through to the knockout stage,'' said Troussier, who has returned to Europe this week for more scouting.

The South Africans have made a rapid impact on African football in the six years they had been allowed to play since the end of the long-standing political and sporting isolation. The team has been to two successive African Nations Cup finals, winning at home in 1996 and then finishing runners-up to Egypt in Burkina Faso in February.

The performances have highlighted a depth of talent in the country and a quick adaptation to the rigours of modern day international soccer.

South Africa struggled initially after their return from isolation, losing their first ever World Cup match 4-0 against Nigeria in Lagos.

But they have lost just one more World Cup qualifying game since and were fairly comfortable qualifiers from a group in which Congo, Zaire and Zambia were the opposition.

Much ofthe squad has changed since last august's qualifying decider against Congo in Johannesburg with many of former coach Clive Barker's preferred players being dropped.

Barker lost his job in December after a disappointing performance in the Confederations' Cup in Saudi Arabia and with him went players like Andre Arendse, Sizwe Motaung, Neil Tovey and Eric Tinkler. Motaung, like Tovey a former captain, has fallen out of favour despite making a comeback from injury in March. He was ever-present in the World Cup qualifying campaign.

Troussier preferred to bring through a new generation of players at the Nations Cup finals this year but there is still plenty of experience in the side.

Bolton defender Mark Fish, formerly with Lazio in Italy, is a major influence despite a disappointing season in the English Premier League.Leeds' athletic defender-cum-mid-fielder Lucas Radebe has cemented his spot as captain while striker Phil Masinga has also made his mark in Serie A this term with Bari. St Gallen'sfast-raiding full-back David Nyathi and the genial skills of Doctor Khumalo add further dimensions to an impressive squad. With such talent at his disposal, Troussier has high hopes of making a major impact in June.