Hunt’s arrival raises hope for Chiefs

The poorly kept secret was finally confirmed on Thursday — Gavin Hunt is the new coach at Kaizer Chiefs. Speculation about his move was rife since that ill-fated day when coach Ernst Middendorp’s Amakhosi surrendered the Premier Soccer League trophy to Mamelodi Sundowns on the season’s last day.

A wave of excitement from the Kaizer Chiefs fans following the appointment of Hunt underlines the success-starvation they have endured in the top flight football. Who can blame them when their beloved club has gone for five years without any silverware, in spite of high profile players in their squad. Chiefs remain the most-supported team in the country, and watching clubs like Sundowns dominate local soccer was a bitter pill for them to swallow.

Hunt has an impressive CV and without doubt is a fit-for-purpose mentor. Described as a supreme motivator and tough as nails character, he has 26 years of professional coaching experience and has won trophies at every club he has served at since 2004.

Such experience does not come cheap and was acknowledged by Amakhosi owner Kaizer Motaung, who said in his speech Hunt “brings with him an abundance of experience. There is success wherever he has coached”.

Interestingly Chiefs has been known to recruit coaches from abroad, with the owner defending the trend by saying his club was too big to be handled by SA mentors. Maybe he was right at the time based on the achievements of coaches Jeff Butler and Ted Dumitru. The failure of the experiment with Steve Komphela may have cemented his hypothesis.

However, the rehiring of Middendorp in 2018 did not improve the fortunes of Amakhosi. The club plunged to an all-time low when it was beaten by second-tier TS Galaxy in a Nedbank Cup final under his guidance.

While there was a bit of hope earlier in the year when the club was leading by 13 points at the top of the PSL log, that bubble burst as Chiefs huffed and puffed towards the finish line where they were pipped by Sundowns by a mere two points. It was a case of so near yet so far and a season most Chiefs’ stakeholders would want to forget quickly.

Hunt’s signing brings a lot of hope. However, fans must be reminded that patience is a virtue in the beautiful game. It’s highly unlikely that there will be instant results as it takes time for players and a new coach to gel. That the chair has given Hunt a mandate to challenge for a Caf championship speaks volumes about expectations.

We can only wish him well to bring glory days to his new team.

Hunt has an impressive CV and without doubt is a fit-for-purpose mentor...

He has 26 years of professional experience