JOHANNESBURG - It’s okay to feel for Gavin Hunt. But that he appears to blame the Kaizer Chiefs management when results go south, doesn’t help his cause.
He’s got to step up! Upon collecting another defeat this past weekend, after Chiefs were bundled out of the Nedbank Cup by GladAfrica Championship side Richards Bay, Hunt made a sombre reflection. “This is the most embarrassing defeat in my 27-year-old career.”
Yikes, that must have stung! It is easy to point out that he was going to hit a couple of potholes along the way in his first season at the club, considering they lost out on the title on the last day of the season, extending their trophyless run to five seasons.
But trust me, no one sets themselves up for failure. The fact that some singletons, including myself, will be cooped up on Monday, February 15, envying the stories of lovebirds reflecting on Valentine's Day, doesn't mean it was our choice to be single.
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Most Premier Soccer League club bosses are not thrilled that the transfer deadline is coming to a close on Monday midnight without having made a substantial sale or purchase, amid the impact of Covid-19.
But those informed will tell you the solution is to learn from your past and work on a better tomorrow there and then.
After all, Alexander Graham Bell, the telephone inventor, sums it well that “when one door closes, another opens. But we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us”.
And that’s why for Chiefs, as well, the time to plan for next season is now. Sure, they will be eligible to sign players come pre-season – after the season long transfer ban – but an immediate scout process would do them a world of good if you ask me.
You see, it’s not Hunt that doesn’t know which players he wants to bring on board for his second season at the club. But gone are those days when he could raid the market at his will – like at defunct Bidvest Wits and SuperSport United respectively.
The mere fact that there were a handful of Motaungs during his unveiling meant that they (the Motaungs) – and not him – run all things Chiefs! Bobby Motaung, in particular, is responsible for who comes and goes at the club.
The 50-year-old son of chairman Kaizer Motaung, Bobby, has grown in leaps and bounds as a football administrator. But he has made some questionable decisions in the past, notably during the signing of Arohasina Andrianarimanana which resulted in the transfer ban.
Hunt, too, has been critical of some of Motaung’s decisions. But hiding behind his coy response, “I won’t speak but I know what is happening”, doesn’t help his cause.
He has to suck it up and work with Motaung. Or else, he won’t live to see a happy ending.