Job-hunting Gavin in midst of Kaizer Chiefs storm
Former Wits coach now in the market after the sale of his club
Unemployed Gavin Hunt woke up in the morning after Kaizer Chiefs lost the Premiership title in the most heartbreaking fashion to Mamelodi Sundowns to find himself top of the Twitter trends with fans imploring Amakhosi hierarchy to give Ernst Middendorp’s job to him.
Chiefs led the Premiership standings for 380 days and at some point commanded an intimidating 13-point gap at the top before Sundowns stormed their way up to complete a smash-and-grab of a 10th league title after a 3-0 victory over Black Leopards at Dobsonville Stadium on the final day on Saturday.
Middendorp’s side squandered a halftime lead for a 1-1 draw with Baroka FC that cost them the Premiership title when a victory of any margin could have ended the team’s five-year wait for the biggest prize in local football.
Hunt guided now defunct Bidvest Wits to a respectable fourth place finish and seven points behind the champions Sundowns and five behind runners-up Chiefs.
Reports in the past few months have consistently linked the four-time league winning Hunt to take over at Naturena, despite Middendorp putting the team at the top of the Premiership standings since the start of the season till the heartbreak on the final day.
With speculation in overdrive linking Hunt with Middendorp’s job, Hunt broke his silence two months ago and said he was embarrassed to be consistently linked with a job that was not vacant.
“Listen, it’s quite embarrassing for me, because somebody’s got a job and my name’s being thrown about here‚” Hunt, who won three league titles with SuperSport United before adding a fourth with Wits,”said in June.
“I mean I’ve got a contract with the club for another year here at Wits. So it [speculation] is what it is. Its ’ very unprofessional. They [Chiefs] have got somebody in place. They’re top of the league.
“But it’s not nice from my perspective because there’s nothing in it.”
But with Hunt now unemployed after his contract with Wits ended on Saturday following the sale and relocation of the 99-year-old club to Limpopo for the coming season, Premiership clubs will be lining up for his signature.
The former Leopards, SuperSport and Moroka Swallows coach has also been linked with another job that is not vacant at Orlando Pirates. —
It’s not nice from my perspective because there’s nothing in it