The story behind the scenes

Amakhosi board split on Hunt

The decision to relieve Hunt of his duties or to give him another season with new players to prove what he can do will ultimately rest with Motaung. But there are several factors that will influence his decision and among them is the views of the board members on the coach.

Middendorp faced similar scrutiny just six months into his tenure in 2019, with the board split on whether he should continue to be in charge and be given a full season having only arrived midway through the Solinas era. In the end, Motaung decided to back the German and strengthened his squad with the signing of strikers Samir Nurkovic and Lazarous Kambole, while Kearyn Baccus and James Kotei arrived to add numbers to the midfield.

Nurkovic was a revelation, Kambole a bit of a disaster, while Baccus blew hot and cold as he was homesick. Kotei never kicked a ball and was replaced by Anthony Akumu after six months.

Motaung could take a similar approach with Hunt – back him and give him all the tools he needs (his preferred players) and let him try again without the FIFA ban as an excuse to why the squad isn’t performing.

But the reality is that Hunt has also been somewhat of a PR nightmare for the club, something which Siya sources have informed the crew before that it has rubbed the marketing and communications team up the wrong way.

Chiefs care about the brand of the club as much as they do about positive results – at Naturena, those two go handin-hand.

Hunt hasn’t yet mastered any one of them, and that is his Achilles heel.

Hunt’s settlement a stumbling block?

Siya sources have indicated that Chiefs have a standard agreement with coaches that they appoint regarding a settlement, should they decide to quit or if the club wields the axe to send them packing.

Solinas was paid a three months’ salary, insiders revealed at the time of his sacking, and the same applied to Middendorp when the German parted ways with Amakhosi in September last year.

Indications are that Hunt’s Chiefs salary is in the region of around R8 million per annum and he is only six months into a three-year contract.

It has not been confirmed if Hunt has agreed to the same termination clause, and given that it is quite early into his tenure, this may suggest that giving him the boot could prove tricky for the club.

Solinas was fired after just four months, but indications are that his wages did not come anywhere near to what Hunt is earning at Naturena.

It is understood that Middendorp’s wages were slightly more than Solinas’, but even he left Chiefs when he still had a season to go on his initial agreement with the club.

If Hunt has agreed to the termination clause, it will cost Chiefs around R2 million to part ways, should they opt to pull the trigger.

But it will cost them a lot more if the clause was not agreed to and signed. And this could be a stumbling block…

Who steps in if Hunt is sacked?

Kaizer Motaung is not a trigger-happy boss, though he has proven in the past that he can eject a coach from the hotseat if he’s not delivering.

With all his track record and serial winner mentality, the reality is that Chiefs have been below par under Hunt this season.

The list of coaches who got sacked at Naturena isn’t that long, simply because Motaung decides from the beginning to give whoever is in charge ample time to find their feet before looking for an alternative.

Recently, it has been Solinas and Middendorp who did not finish their contracts for various reasons. It’s mostly been about results and the ability, or lack thereof, to work together with management, and have the same vision.

According to Siya sources, Hunt was the club’s preferred candidate from the start when it became clear that Middendorp would be leaving at the end of the 2019/20 campaign, though reports also linked Algerian Adel Amrouche to the job.

Indications are that Benni McCarthy’s name was also discussed at Chiefs, but in the end, it was his mentor Hunt who landed the plum job.

McCarthy has since returned to Mzansi to take over at AmaZulu FC and his arrival has had a massive impact and could mean a club like Chiefs will sit up and take note if they are seriously considering a coaching change.

Baxter is also unattached at the moment after he was fired by Indian Premier League outfit Odisha FC in January and has told the Siya crew he is ready to jump into the next project – but only if it provides stability for his family in the midst of a pandemic.

His son, Lee Baxter, is still the goalkeeper coach at Chiefs.