Bitter pill to swallow
WITS BOSS ANGRY AS PAEZ SEALS CHIEFS’ FORTUNATE WIN Club has already started planning for next season.
Winning is in Gavin Hunt’s DNA – he hates losing with a passion and that was laid bare for everyone to see on Saturday when he reacted angrily to the 1-0 defeat to Kaizer Chiefs at FNB Stadium even though it was meaningless as they had already clinched the Absa Premiership title.
Hunt was unimpressed by the fact Amakhosi had not been sporting and given the ball back to them when the referee unintentionally deflected a Wits ball to a Chiefs player and Amakhosi went on to score the winning goal in added time. The goal was scored by Gustavo Paez in the 92nd minute.
“The game was hard to watch, I thought it was very slow. Conceding right at the death was disappointing,” he said after the match.
Hunt knows he cannot bask in the limelight brought by his team’s successes this season where they clinched a league and cup double.
Hunt said their campaign was hard but they were sustained by their “bounce back factor” which helped them get back into contention even after a deflating defeat.
“Every player has played his part. We had some outstanding individuals.
“But it is gone now and we start again for next year. I am happy, the club has won the league for the first time in 96 years. The days where two or three clubs were capable of winning the league are gone now. We expect a bun-fight again next season and I am sure everyone is looking forward to it,” said Hunt.
The 52-year-old coach said he will be looking to make a few additions to his team for next season as he is bound to lose some of his players with Mamelodi Sundowns loan players Cuthbert Malajila and Mogakolodi Ngele already confirmed to be going back to the Brazilians.
“We will lose a few players. The market is difficult these days. We don’t want to spend ridiculous amounts of money on players. A lot of teams will be rebuilding. We have four candidates we are trying to lure here – we started the process last month already.
“We are keeping the core of our team,” he said.