Chiefs’ Hunt is finally over
TOUGH JOB: HUGE CHALLENGE AWAITS EX WITS MENTOR IN CHIEFS HOT SEAT
Club chairman Kaizer Motaung said Hunt’s understanding of the local market made him a viable candidate.
It is Gavin Hunt. That’s the answer given by Kaizer Chiefs yesterday to the question that’s been on every club supporter’s lips since they fired Ernst Middendorp last week.
And the supporters got their wish as most had been calling exclusively for the former Bidvest
Wits man to be hired. Hunt had become available after Wits folded at the end of last season in what some saw as a blessing in disguise for Amakhosi.
“We looked at our situation and at our needs before deciding on Gavin. He brings with him an abundance of experience, having coached about five teams in the Premiership. There is success wherever he has coached,” said Kaizer Motaung on confirming Hunt’s appointment yesterday.
Motaung went on to explain that Hunt’s understanding of the local market made him a more viable candidate especially in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic which has disturbed the football industry.
“Given that the Covid-19 epidemic has forced us to finish the season in the Bio-Bubble and that the squad will only rest for two weeks before the players return for pre-season, we needed a coach who understands the local market and conditions. We believe that with Hunt we have brought in a person with the right experience and energy to do just that,” added Motaung.
Hunt – who has eight trophies under his belt as a coach – has his work cut out for him at Naturena. The club has gone on an unprecedented and embarassing five year run without a trophy and among his first duties will be to end the drought.
While Hunt is also expected to be followed by some of the players he coached at Bidvest Wits, that will depend on the outcome of the club’s appeal over a transfer ban imposed by Fifa last year. If they win the appeal and have the ban reversed, Amakhosi will then be able to bring in new players with the likes of Thabang Monare, Sifiso Hlanti and Given Human among those expected to follow Hunt to Amakhosi.
Speculation had rife since Middendorp’s firing with the likes of Benni McCarthy, Eric Tinkler and even Gordon Igesund being touted as the next man to guide the Naturena-based side. Algeria’s Adel Amrouche, currently with the Botswana national team, also revealed this week he had been in talks with Amakhosi. The Citizen, however, understands that Amrouche’s interviews with the media regarding the approach by the club was a big turn off for Chiefs.