Takes from the Presser: Hunt brutal and honest in Cheifs assessment

Kaizer Chiefs head coach Gavin Hunt, in his post-match press conference, following the side’s opening day 3-0 loss to reigning champions Mamelodi Sundowns, struck a dejected tone and was brutal in the assessment of the team.

During his unveiling Hunt mention the need to get the atmosphere in the camp up following last season’s heart-crushing disappointment, well he has not been able to do that by a sign of things, the moral at the club is low and that was summed up by a ‘heavy sigh’ he released during one of his answers.

Hunt is someone who does not like to lose a football match, and he is not afraid to give an honest opinion about the match afterwards. The side from Naturena conceded three goals to no response, two from a set-piece and one from open play. How the goals were shipped in led to the esteemed coach saying “we can’t be conceding goals like that, that’s something I have learned from day one, so I need to sort it out; and try to work the best we can with the players that we’ve got.”

It was mickey mouse defending from Chiefs, goalkeeper Itumeleng  Khune with a few blunders and one leading to the first goal from a corner as he was indecisive and the defence unit on the left side not catching on to the combination play of the Brazilians, the same phase of the attack was used in the build up to the second goal and the penalty.

Reinforcements to the squad are something Hunt can’t do at the moment because of the transfer ban and he is taking it by the chin, and not trying to make any excuses about the situation the club finds themselves in.

“It’s been well documented, I don’t want to go there, we all know what the situation is, it’s very difficult. It is what it is, and I’ve got to do the best we can with what we have,” said Hunt.

What does he have though; a mixture of experienced and young players; two international goalkeepers, two good centre backs who can chip in with goals, exciting young fullbacks, a dire midfield but compensate by good academy graduates, two former player of season attackers, and a traditional centre forward; one he doesn’t have are traditional winger, and we know he depends heavily on them, unfortunately, he can’t get them at the moment.

Reality is that this team is not a Gavin Hunt team, not only talking from a point of personnel but rather mentality. They don’t have the attitude of the three-peat winning SuperSport United side or Bidvest Wits team that went toe to toe with the big three. In the presser, he was asked how far is the team to a side moulded in his image.

“We are nowhere near, there’s a lot of things I want to say but it’s not right to say it in the media. There’s a certain element of a game of football that you need in football teams, I know what it is and we’ll keep striving to get there.

We are miles away, we are very far away from what I expect a football team to be, what I know what a football team to be and what it needs, we are very far away from that, that’s the personnel and we need to change it, that’s for sure,” he responded.

This kind of honesty and brutality from Hunt is refreshing and brilliant, in a way he is challenging the club; from the Kaizer Motaung to their newest fan to do some introspection about its state.

“We certainly need to make a few more decisions around the players that we got,” said Hunt in a concluding statement, with that he’s challenging the players and also signalling a clear out.