Klate’s CV

When asked for the reason behind his incredible haul of Absa Premiership titles, Daine Klate first broke into a sly smile. “Maybe I am a muti man, I don’t know,” quipped the 32-year-old Bidvest Wits winger moments after his side had sealed their first Premiership crown on Wednesday night with a 2-0 win over Polokwane City.

The reality, of course, is that luck, circumstance or muti can never be the reasons behind the hard graft of a league championship win, and certainly not behind six league championship wins. That is the record-breaking haul that Klate now has in the Premier Soccer League era.

Wherever Klate goes, the league title tends to follow – that was certainly the case for five years in a row between 2007 and 2012, the talented Port Elizabeth-born winger annexing five championships on the trot, three with SuperSport United and two with Orlando Pirates.

It took another five years for the next one to arrive, but it was Klate who was in the heart of the action on Wednesday. Just after the hour mark, he unleashed a brilliant left-footed shot with such force that it toppled him to the floor, the ball nestling in the far corner of the net. It was a strike that put Wits 2-0 up and settled any lingering nerves.

Klate has had his ups and downs in the Wits side this season, not a permanent fixture in the starting line-up, and netting just five times in domestic competition.

When it matters most, however, his class has shone through – it was Klate’s double that helped seal the MTN8 title against Mamelodi Sundowns in October.

“I am a winner and I try and contribute positively on the field and off the field,” Klate added, getting more serious.

“Me and Moeneeb (Josephs) always try to lead by example. The younger guys like Phakamani Mahlambi have hopefully learned a lot, we just try to be a positive influence to them.

“Last season I was top goalscorer and Player-of-the-Season at Wits, I am purely a team player and they (the younger players) can get energy from me. Sometimes if the chips are down you must come up with certain things and show leadership. An example is the second goal, that was crucial. I try to bring to the team a winning mentality, I never want to lose and am vocal in the change-room. That is why the coach brought me here, I am used to winning.”

This season’s league title is also a fourth that Klate and head coach Gavin Hunt have won together, following on from the three at SuperSport between 2007 and 2010. So what makes the Hunt-Klate axis so successful?

“Before the (Polokwane City) game I thought about this being our fourth together,” said Klate.

“He is a coach that will always be special to me. We fight a lot during the season, we have had a lot of arguments over the four league titles! Me, him and Moeneeb fight the most with each other. But we know it is about reaction with him. If I shout at him and he shouts back I will show him what I will do next time. That is what I am trying to instill into the players, he is a straightforward coach, he will tell you in your face how he feels and you have to prove him wrong. We have a fantastic relationship on and off the field.”

Absa Premiership: 2007/08, 2008/09, 2009/10, 2010/11, 2011/12, 2016/17

MTN8: 2004/05, 2010/11, 2011/12, 2016/17

Nedbank Cup: 2004/05, 2010/11, 2013/14

Telkom Knockout: 2011/12

Hunt, meanwhile, gave an illustration of his “straightforward” approach in his comments on Klate.

“My relationship with him is my size-eight foot up his backside,” said the Wits coach.

“He waned a little bit this year and then he came back a little bit and in tonight’s game he did it. Daine shouldn’t train Monday to Friday, he should just come Saturdays.

“His family has moved back home and he lost his way a bit but now he is OK. He knows and I have told him, he has done more than anyone for me in my life but if he doesn’t do it, he is out, he has to retain the hunger. If he loses his hunger, he won’t play.”

The challenge has been laid down then, and it is hard to be against Klate showing his coach next season that the hunger is very much still there. Who knows, he could even bring home an unprecedented seventh title.

If he doesn’t do it, he is out, he has to retain the hunger. If he loses his hunger, he won’t play.

Gavin Hunt Bidvest Wits coach