Johannesburg – It’s 12 years now since then club captain Ricardo Katza lifted SuperSport United’s last league title with head coach Gavin Hunt, a third league title in as many years and the second in history to do it at the time.
Fast forward to 2022, although having had notable success at the now defunct Bidvest Wits, Hunt is back in the Matsatsantsa dugout and seems to have found his mojo again following two dreadful spells at Kaizer Chiefs and Chippa United thereafter.
Hunt is undoubtedly one of the most successful coaches in the domestic game today and his continued desire to learn, evolve and adapt while staying true to his core coaching principles have seen him stand the test of time, and his return to his beloved SuperSport seems to be the perfect tonic for him.
Mark Haskins, who worked with Hunt at both Swallows and Matsatsantsa believes a lot of credit should be given to the 58-year-old mentor for picking himself up after a tough four years.
“Well, you have to give it to Gavin. He took a break from the game and a lot of people questioned his trip to Manchester City, but it wasn’t about City’s style but just getting a breather and a different perspective for the game,” he said.
“One thing about him is that he’ll stay true to his beliefs. He has a set way of how he wants to go about things and get results so he’ll stay true to that, but obviously he’s had to do a bit of introspection and try to make himself more relevant.”
Following a worrying start to the 2022/2023 season, the Pretoria-based club have seemingly finally found their tune. Hunt praised his side for excellent results, but bashed their efficiency in front of goal in the early stages.
SuperSport currently occupy third spot on the DStv Premiership log, just five points off log-leading Mamelodi Sundowns and Haskins pointed out that the club’s backing of Hunt and his previous achievements within the establishment are the main reason behind their recent turnaround in fortunes.
“SuperSport has a great set-up and is very conducive for his style and how he likes to operate in general,” he explained.
“He has had great success with the club so they would easily trust him to go about his business and that’s very important for him to be in a team that allows him to implement his ways.”
IOL Sport