It’s not easy for me, says Hunt
WITS’ poor start to their PSL title defence didn’t only test coach Gavin Hunt’s tactical acumen, but it also tested his faith which saw him flirt with the idea of believing in “other things”.
The Clever Boys registered their first win of the season in regulation time on Saturday after eight failed attempts.
The 1-0 victory over Orlando Pirates gave Hunt some reprieve in a difficult spell that saw his future at the club in doubt for the first time since joining them four years ago.
An emotional Hunt opened up on how he endured a period that he hopes is behind them after their morale-boosting win.
“It’s been hard,” Hunt, pictured, said. “I have never taken a beating like this in my life. I have always been on the other end of the scale. It’s not easy for me. I have seen things that I have never seen before. Maybe I started to believe in other things?
“It’s been crazy. I know I get criticised every week about my team selection. But you must come down to training to see what I am dealing with in terms of injuries. Tyson (Thulani Hlatshwayo) pulled out on the morning we were playing Pirates.
“I had the whole team planned. I had to drop Daine (Klate) and (Gabadinho) Mhango because I lost Tyson and had to change the way we play.
“The players are looking at me and shaking their heads. The mood hasn’t been any different (after the win over Pirates).
“There’s been a lot of determination and frustration. But I don’t think that the mood is anything different just because of this win. There are a lot of people who are upset about what’s happening. Those are the people who care. As long as you have people who care, you have half a chance.”
Wits kept their first clean sheet of the season in the win over Pirates. The club’s defence, which was their strongest department last season, has turned into a porous unit that shipped 15 goals in eight matches in all competitions.
“We are chopping and changing the team every game,” Hunt said. “We can’t get any consistency. Our back five that helped us win the league and the MTN8 was consistent for the past year, but is not here.
“We have one player available from that back five. One! The left-back (Sifiso Hlanti). Our back five was key to our stability – (Darren) Keet, (Nazeer) Allie, Buhle (Mkhwanazi) and Tyson were good for us.”
Hunt replaced that quartet with Moeneeb Josephs, Reeve Frosler, Bongani Khumalo and Slavko Damjanovic.
Josephs and Frosler have stepped up to the challenge and held their own, while Khumalo and Damjanovic have struggled to offer Wits the strong central pairing they had last season.
To combat that, Hunt has been fielding Phumlani Ntshangase just in front of central defence – offering the team more protection and giving the midfield more freedom. Ntshangase did that job so well against the Buccaneers that he earned a man-of-the-match award.