Hunt will be a true miracle-worker if he can turn SuperSport’s fortunes around

The only real surprise in Gavin Hunt’s return to SuperSport United last week was that it has taken so long for a coach with his pedigree to find another job in the DStv Premiership.

ALSO READ: Hlatshwayo looks to revive career at SuperSport

Chippa United suspended Hunt from his duties last November, but Chippa throw the axe around almost as a force of habit, making it difficult to ever know whether the coach is to blame.

There was also a fairly disastrous spell at Kaizer Chiefs the previous season, in which Amakhosi almost became embroiled in a relegation battle, but Hunt was also impeded by a transfer ban, and he did get the team to the Caf Champions League semifinals.

Hunt’s seven-season spell at Bidvest Wits was more indicative of his class as a coach who knows how to consistently compete at the top of the table. His three Premiership titles in a row with SuperSport between 2007 and 2010, meanwhile, remains a staggering achievement at a club outside of the so-called ‘big three’.

Some may say Hunt’s coaching style has not kept up with changes in the modern game, with rumours at Chiefs of a lack of willingness to use video analysis, but it is hard to believe that one of the most qualified coaches in the country (he holds a Uefa A license), is not up with current trends. 

What Hunt will have to accept in his new stint with SuperSport is that the DStv Premiership is in an era where SuperSport do not really look equipped financially to take on the dominance of Mamelodi Sundowns. 

This is evidenced nowhere more than in the volume of their top players Sundowns have snapped up, with Aubrey Modiba, Sipho Mbule and Teboho Mokoena all recently joining the ranks of Masandawana, and Ronwen Williams reportedly soon to follow.

There was a time when SuperSport might have kept these players, but financial difficulties, only exacerbated by Covid-19, have forced their hand. With this in mind, it will perhaps be Hunt’s greatest achievement ever if he can make SuperSport competitive again.