Cape Town — Gavin Hunt's sojourn in the soccer wilderness has ended abruptly with his appointment at SuperSport United whose “DNA” was a major factor in his decision to accept the position of head coach at the Pretoria-based side.
Since his departure from Chippa United last December, Hunt's name has been linked to several clubs that were without head coaches. However, seven months later, he's finally settled for a club "with a DNA“ that "I liked" and there he'll build on his tried-and-tested philosophy of "No Youth, No Future".
Hunt has an enviable record as a SuperSport coach during his first stint there several years ago. He won the PSL's Premiership three seasons on the trot (2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10). Since his departure, SuperSport have never won the Premiership again.
While at SuperSport, Hunt also won the PSL accolade 'Coach of the Year' for three consecutive seasons. Along with Pitso Mosimane and Gordon Igesund, he ranks among the most successful PSL coaches.
Hunt recalled that when he started nine years ago at SuperSport, he needed to build the squad and he started looking at the club's Under-18 team.
"I walked straight into the Under-18 team, and there were players like Ronwen Williams, Kermit Erasmus and many other young and exciting talents," said Hunt. "Slowly, I brought the youngsters up, and they all had a chance to play in the first team.
"It has always been exciting for me [to promote youngsters]. I gave a lot of young players a chance right back from the time when I managed Seven Stars back in 1995.
"This (new) position is a challenge for me. This is a young side, and no one apart from Ronwen is still at the club when I was first around. I gave Ronwen his debut.
"This is a completely different group of players, and I cannot wait to get started and see what’s available on the training ground."
Hunt's record of winning trophies with unfashionable clubs like SuperSport, Black Leopards, Bidvest Wits and Moroka Swallows has been well documented. Very often these clubs, despite their trophy haul during his tenure, have no or few players in the national teams.
Now Hunt has now added another string to his bow after spending a week at the training venue of the Football Association Premier League champions Manchester City. There he learned the latest developments in player management and playing tactics.
"I spent a week at Manchester City, and it gave me a chance to see what's done at the highest level of football," said Hunt. "There are so many aspects to the game, and then there is also social media, and all these aspects have to be managed.
"It was a wonderful experience being there because for a change I had a chance to see from the inside what's going on outside. For a while, it has been a case of looking from the outside to see what's happening on the inside.
"It was a learning experience and I feel refreshed.
"We are living in challenging times, and in modern-day times there are ongoing changes. The game has become highly technical, and I have stayed abreast of trends and developments."
Hunt said coaches need to be careful when accepting positions. There must be an alignment in the way the club and the coaches think and operate.
"There has to be a way the club and coaches or trainers align in the way each party thinks," said Hunt. "SuperSport has the DNA that I like, and they like the way I will take this club forward."
Hunt’s first assignment will be a daunting away MTN8 quarter-final clash against champions Mamelodi Sundowns in August.
IOL Sport