Gavin Hunt, head coach of Supersport United reacts during the DStv Premiership 2023/24 match against Mamelodi Sundowns at Lucas Moripe Stadium in Pretoria on 29 November 2023. Picture: Samuel Shivambu, BackpagePix
SuperSport United coach Gavin Hunt is realistic about his team’s strengths in the DStv Premiership race, but he’s also in awe of how much they’ve achieved.
It’s been a turbulent time for South African football, with some PSL clubs succumbing to struggles, resulting in the sale of statuses, or downsizing. SuperSport have opted for the latter, selling their top players to keep the club afloat, a reality that resulted in them having to compete using their youngsters this season.
Enter Hunt.
The club’s three-time championship-winning coach has been trying to make something out of nothing since his return last season, when they finished third on the log.
“With what we’ve got, we’ve overachieved, haven’t we?” queried Hunt, after his team’s 2-0 loss to Mamelodi Sundowns in the league on Wednesday night.
Not the results we aimed for last night. We regroup and go again.💙
— SuperSport United FC (@SuperSportFC) November 30, 2023
Next stop, #TotalEnergiesCAFCC action this coming Sunday⚽️#MatsatsantsaUnified pic.twitter.com/r3LuDUKEPo
“We can’t just be judged. Last season, we came third for the first time since I left the club, and then we lost players. They (Downs) bought a player (Thapelo Maseko), who was brilliant, from us.
“We lost Patrick (Maswanganyi) to Pirates and TT (Thatayaone Ditlhokwe) to Chiefs. What can I do?
“We come third and we should strengthen, but we become weaker. How good am I then?”
Granted, SuperSport have done little to bolster their squad after last season, but such is Hunt’s winning appetite and championship-winning mentality, he wants to win every season. His troops have embodied that mentality and they are third in the standings with 24 points, three behind leaders Sundowns, who have four games in hand.
But after losing 2-0 to Sundowns in the derby on Wednesday, Hunt reiterated that they are under no illusion that they can knock their rich arch-rivals, who often raid them for players, off their perch.
“The club is a different club from when I was here the first time and won the league. It was equal for everyone,” said Hunt.
“But Sundowns bought all those players as well – Denis Onyango, Elias Pelembe, they all went. We had to build again. You guys judge us on one game, they should beat us 8-0.
“They’ve been doing it (buying from us) for a long time. I am sure the foreigners they are bringing now, I am sure that they are worth more (than) the whole team. Our franchise, it’s a different level.”
So, with Sundowns already on course to win a record seventh title in a row – and not looking to relinquish their dominance any time soon – Hunt and his team have set a realistic target.
“If we can qualify for the Confederation Cup again, we’d be boxing way above our weight. I am proud of the players, so we keep going,” Hunt explained.
SuperSport have also punched above their weight in the Confederation Cup this season as they are in the group stage. But their campaign got off to a sour start after losing to Modern Future 1-0 away.
They want to redeem themselves against USM Alger at home on Sunday. Hunt says they’ll do their best on the day.
“I have 24 players in the squad. and 10 of them are under-18s from the reserves. So we got a mix and match. We should have won last weekend but we’ll tackle that and do the best we can,” he said.
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