Stellenbosch FC coach Gavin Hunt has taken stock of the 2025/26 season and says his vision for the club needs time to be executed, as he speaks about his ambitions for the Cape Winelands outfit.
The veteran coach took charge of Stellenbosch in December 2025, replacing Steve Barker, who had taken a job at Tanzanian giants Simba SC. He inherited a team that was dicing with relegation and under pressure to balance between domestic competitions and the CAF Confederation Cup.
The Maroons were struggling to plug the gap left by central midfielder Sihle Nduli, who joined Orlando Pirates before the start of 2025/26 season, as well as left-back Fawaaz Basadien, who crossed over to Mamelodi Sundowns. Centre-back Ismael Toure had also left for the United Arab Emirates.
Having carved themselves a reputation as a selling club, Stellenbosch were known to be spot-on in replacing key players who depart for bigger opportunities. But the just-ended season saw them struggling, even after bringing in experienced stars like Olisa Ndah and Mosa Lebusa, as well as Wayde Jooste mid-season.
They failed to secure a top-eight spot and settled for position ninth on the Betway Premiership table. It was a season they finished empty-handed even after reaching the MTN8 final and they also failed to go beyond the CAF Confederation Cup group stage after a semi-finals appearance in the 2024/25 term.
‘WE LET OURSELVES DOWN,’ AS HUNT EYES FRESH START WITH STELLENBOSCH
Stellenbosch gave Hunt the mandate to lead them until the end of the season, but they have since extended his contract by a further two years. The former Kaizer Chiefs coach takes stock of their season and says he has lofty plans for the future in the Cape Winelands.
“We had one or two games towards the end where [we let ourselves down], and once we got safe, we perhaps took the foot off a little bit. But we’re happy to finish the season and try to build for the next,” said Hunt.
“I’ve got lots of plans, but those things take time. It won’t all happen at once, I know that from an experience perspective, so we have to build the team slowly. There are players who will leave and players who will come in.
“We’ll take each of those cases on its individual merits and try to build the team from there. It is exciting because we can really have a fresh start now and make sure we’re never in the situation we were in this year again.”
RELATED STORY: Gavin Hunt extends his contract at Stellenbosch