Mickey Arthur has expressed disappointment that none of his South African players have been shortlisted for any of the International Cricket Council's annual awards.
The world governing body released the final nominations on Tuesday with England's Ashes-winning captain Andrew Strauss among four players named in the overall Cricketer of the Year category.
Indians Gautam Gambhir and Mahendra Singh Dhoni are also in the running for the Sir Garfield Sobers trophy, as is Australia fast bowler Mitchell Johnson.
Strauss, Gambhir and Johnson are also still in with a chance of the Test player of the Year award, alongside Sri Lanka's Thilan Samaraweera.
Proteas captain Graeme Smith and batsman AB de Villiers were both named on the initial lists in both categories last week, with fast bowler Dale Steyn originally included amongst the Test nominees.
But their axing has left Arthur disturbed, especially after such an outstanding 12 months for his side that has seen them rise to the top of both, the Tests and one-day international world rankings.
He told www.sport24.com: "It's very disappointing, particularly considering how well the team performed over the last year."
However, the South African coach believes the ICC snub can be used as motivation for the Champions Trophy, which will be hosted by the country later this month.
He continued: "We have not had time to discuss it in the team context, but I'm sure it will only motivate guys to perform well in the tournament.
"We remain the best team in world cricket, irrespective of who wins the prizes."
The shortlisted players will discover who has won when the awards are presented at the sixth annual LG ICC awards in Johannesburg on October 1.
Meanwhile, Arthur also revealed that South Africa's energies are currently being focused towards winning their Champions Trophy opener against Sri Lanka in Pretoria on September 22.
"The game is the first hurdle to get over and we're not thinking further than that," he said.
"Our performance record in the knock-out stages of major tournaments is not particularly impressive. However, in order to change that, we first need to make the semi-finals."
Arthur confirmed that captain Smith, who underwent an elbow operation during the off-season, will make his return from injury in Friday's warm-up match against West Indies at Senwes Park.
