SuperSport United coach Gavin Hunt views the MTN8 as an important opportunity to test his team’s readiness for the DStv Premiership title race.
Hunt is gearing up with his team to take on Stellenbosch FC on Sunday evening at 18:00 in the MTN8 quarter-finals at the Peter Mokaba stadium in Polokwane.
The ex-Kaizer Chiefs coach has experience in the top 8 competition, having won it once with the now-defunct Bidvest Wits in 2016. However, this time around, he intends to use the MTN8 to gauge his squad’s readiness for the 2023/24 Premiership campaign.
Hunt has hinted at giving the league title the first importance while using the MTN8 Cup to evaluate how far they will advance.
HUNT TO USE MTN8 FOR DSTV PREMIERSHIP TITLE TEST
“Cup games, I think, take the pressure off when you have new players because, for me, the league games are the pressure games because that’s more important,” said Hunt. “League is always important, anywhere it should be. But the cups are in high priority in South Africa because it is lucrative.
“So clubs look from that perspective, and obviously, the players generally always have a lift, and you can always have an underdog in a cup competition coming through like we have had in South Africa many times in all the different cup competitions.
“I don’t think it is going to be different as it comes at the right or wrong time. We don’t know. It’s always at the start of the season.
“I think it always gives you a good idea of where your team is. When I won this cup last time, I knew we would win the league after that because our team was ready. It is good for the players, and it is good for the team.”
HUNT ON FACING STELLENBOSHC FC
Hunt further acknowledged the difficulties his team would have against Stellenbosch FC.
Stellies beat Orlando Pirates, 1-0 in their league opener before suffering defeat with the same scoreline away to Polokwane City in their most recent game.
“They [Stellies] will always be committed,” he said. They also had a hell of a result last week [Pirates] and obviously not so good against Polokwane City.
“They are always going to be difficult to play against. It’s a very different type of game you will play against them. They are going to wait for you a little bit and pounce. So you have to be careful how you set your team.
“We are always a team that likes to go forward and want to score. But some teams like that and sit and wait for you. So you have to be careful. We are trying and we will see.”
Story by Mashale Mpho Mabotja.
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