Hunt chases Pitso’s record
Win will equal Pitso’s cup haul
Twenty years in the game as a coach, Gavin Hunt has experienced nothing but despair in the Telkom Knockout so far.
Domestically, the only piece of silverware missing from his trophy cabinet is the TKO Cup. All that could change when his Bidvest Wits face Bloemfontein Celtic in a final at the Princess Magogo Stadium in Durban tomorrow (6pm), in what is Hunt’s first final of the competition.
Should Hunt capture the R4.25-million cup, he will join Mamelodi Sundowns mentor Pitso Mosimane as the two only coaches to win every domestic cup on offer. “We won all these games in the cup. Imagine if they were league games, we would be on top of the table. We are not very good there [the league],” Hunt said.
The defending Premiership champions are bottom of the table with nine points from 11 games.
Meanwhile, Phunya Sele Sele have had a decent start under Veselin Jelusic in eighth place with 16 points from 11 games.
The former Moroka Swallows and SuperSport United boss feels previous form will count for nothing on the day.
“I don’t really worry about things like that [being favourites]. We played Sundowns last year and they were big favourites [in the MTN8 final that Wits won],” added Hunt.
“There are small things in games like these that count. They will be just as determined as we are. They are in a better mindset and position than us. They are the better form team. It doesn’t matter what we did last year.”
Clinching the Telkom Knockout title would cherry-top a momentous comeback for Buhle Mkhwanazi, having only played three games in seven months after a longterm injury.
The 27-year-old defender is set to feature in his fourth match when Bidvest Wits take on Bloemfontein Celtic in the final tomorrow.
Gavin Hunt has welcomed the return from injury of the core of his defence that won him the Premiership title last season. With the university outfit struggling in the Premiership, the former Celtic and AmaTuks tough tackler believes winning the cup would be the perfect way to silence their critics.
“We really need to redeem ourselves with the trophy. We started badly and wining this will give us a confidence booster as a team and individually as well,” Mkhwanazi said.