Wits not done with taking advantage of January sales

JOHANNESBURG: Wits aren’t done yet in this month’s transfer window, according to their coach Gavin Hunt. And the reigning PSL champions’ opening fixture in 2018 against Free State Stars tonight almost feels like a bit of a sideshow, but will probably give Hunt an indication of which areas still need strengthening.

“It’s early days,” Hunt said after training yesterday, which included new faces in defender Edwin Gyimah, returning loanee Sifiso Myeni and striker Lehlohonolo Majoro.

“When you are in our position (bottom of the standings after 14 games) you’ve got to do a little bit of something. We can’t just keep going the way we have been. We have freshened the place up a little bit, and I am sure there will still be a lot more to be done.”

Bold statement to try and bring in so many players to turn the corner on results, while keeping the coach?

“Not really,” Hunt argued. “We have brought in another striker, a wide player we haven’t had because of injuries to (Elias) Pelembe and Kobamelo Kodisang. And defenders … if you can get those, then that is another situation. I mean we haven’t scored goals, then we were caught with our pants down at the start of the season because most of our defenders were injured and that is why we conceded so many.”

Wits have also had to let a few players go. So far Slavko Damjanovic, Bokang Tlhone and Steve Pienaar have left. What happened with Pienaar?

“It’s unfortunate,” Hunt said. “He is a good boy, a good professional and has huge experience. But I just think it didn’t work out, that’s football. You can’t look too much into it. I am disappointed, very disappointed. Maybe he needed a bit more time to settle, but that type of player shouldn’t really need too much time. Our league is very different in terms of the game itself. At the start of the season we had about six players out and we had to play Steven. I think the fact that we kept losing and losing obviously didn’t help. What he has achieved in the game a lot of South Africans will be very proud of. I don’t think he gets enough credit for what he has achieved in the game. It didn’t work out and am sorry.”

Asked where he thinks Wits will finish on the league table, the coach said he did not want to get ahead of himself.

“Some of our wins could have been losses. For me the bottom line is the two Ps – played and points, forget about everything else,” Hunt explained.