AGE AN ISSUE FOR HUNT TOP JOB |
The Wits boss doesn’t think he’s old enough to take over as Bafana coach just yet
GAVIN Hunt is on the list of one of the most accomplished coaches in the Premier Soccer League (PSL) era but he is the only one in the group of the elite tacticians that is yet to take over the reigns as the national team coach.
The likes of the late Ted Dumitru, loquacious Pitso Mosimane and the legendary Gordon Igesund have all tasted what it is like to be in the Bafana Bafana hotseat.
All of these coaches boast four league titles under their belts in the PSL era. They all have a reputation for sweeping every trophy that is in front of them.
Stuart Baxter is the current Bafana coach. He led Bafana to the quarterfinals of the Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.
Despite that achievement, according to South African standards, the type of football that Bafana displayed was not eye-catching. The nation is divided on whether he should continue or not.
Baxter is still contracted until 2022 with the South African Football Association (Safa). He qualified for the Afcon without a loss. It was also the first time that Bafana reached the last eight away from home in 17 years.
But Baxter’s defensive mentality has made him an enemy to the South African soccer loving public. In the past, Bafana were all about natural flair and athleticism. They carved open opposition teams with their iron will to win, tenacity and finesse. Bafana played with fluidity.
Is Hunt the right man to steer the ship for Bafana? He doesn’t think so.
“I’m too young to be a national team coach,” Hunt chuckled this past weekend at Harry Gwala Stadium in Pietermaritzburg at Umsunduzi Cup where the Clever Boys succumbed to a 2-1 defeat in the final at the hands of AmaZulu.
Hunt is now 54 years old and has been in the coaching industry for 24 years. His trophy-laden career commenced back in 1995 when he was in charge of Seven Stars. The Cape Town-born man has coached the likes of Hellenic, Black Leopards, Moroka Swallows, SuperSport United and now Wits.
Winning trophies is what has kept him for so long in career. Hunt posses four league triumphs, the Nedbank Cup, ABSA Cup, Telkom Knockout and MTN8 crowns in his list of trophies that he has captured for different teams over the years.
“To be fair, I think that we should have won the league. We were there for over 20 games.
“We were on top of the league and that we had a bad patch for two to three games and we lost games where we were leading. Against Lamontville Golden Arrows were 2-0 up and we drew 2-2. We were 2-0 up against Cape Town City and we lost 3-2. Those games cost us the league,” Hunt said about the missed chances last season as Mamelodi Sundowns dethroned them at the summit of the table to win the league.
The Clever Boys finished third on the log.
Wits have accepted that Darren Keet is leaving the club.
“Ja, Darren is gone. We bought Brandon Paterson who is a good goalkeeper. He didn’t play today (Saturday) but he is very good. We also have Ricardo Goos and Brighton Mhlongo. We are Okay there,” Hunt confirmed.