Former Kaizer Chiefs coach Gavin Hunt says Amakhosi are finally doing what he hoped for during his time at the club.
Hunt spent a season at Naturena before he was axed just two games before the end of the 2020/21 DStv Premiership season.
The SuperSport United head coach has always said Chiefs had an ageing team at the time and needed some refreshing. However, the club was under a transfer ban and could not sign new players.
Responding to Peter Du Toit’s This Is Football Africa YouTube Channel on whether he would consider returning to Chiefs, he said: “Yeah, we got to the semifinal of the CAF Champions League, and they obviously got to the final.
“I got the bullet after the semi-final. So, it’s a great club, a great institution. They needed an overhaul. They’ve done a complete overhaul since I’ve left. Now they’ve got a whole new team in. That’s what they needed 3 or 4 years ago.”
GAVIN HUNT’S RATIONALE FOR A SQUAD OVERHAUL
Hunt further explained his rationale for wanting a squad overhaul: “When Jeff Butler went to Chiefs, he got rid of Teenage [Dladla], Ace [Khuse]. There was a huge uproar. The next season, Jeff Butler won five trophies. You can’t let a team get old together. The team was old, and the team needed changing.”
Hunt acknowledged the recent changes at Amakhosi. At the end of the last two seasons, Chiefs have released over 20 players and brought in new ones.
Among some of the names the club parted ways with are Bernard Parker, Willard Katsande, Lebo Manyama, Khama Billiat and Eric Mathoho.
They have brought in the likes of Ashley Du Preez, Sibongiseni Mthethwa, Yusuf Maart, Thatayaone Ditlhokwe and Edson Castillo, among others.
Hunt emphasised the club’s importance and history, calling it “a great club, a great institution.”
Hunt added he needed more time at Chiefs and feels he could have turned things around.
“Maybe they don’t like me, you don’t fit in as a person, they don’t like your mannerisms. If you hire someone, you’ve gotta leave them to get on with it.
“I needed to get to the end of the season. I was two games away from the end of the season and then a change.”
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