The Siya crew has been led to believe that Kaizer Chiefs’ decision to back Gavin Hunt until the end of the season has pushed back the club’s verdict
The Siya crew has been led to believe that Kaizer Chiefs’ decision to back Gavin Hunt until the end of the season has pushed back the club’s verdict on the future of several players as their stance on the coach could change.
A major squad shake-up is expected at Naturena at the end of the season, and a report on the deadwood was due around then.
But with Hunt allowed to see out the remainder of the campaign, an insider has informed the Siya crew that the club will keep a tight lid on who should be offloaded a little longer given that the board has to still decide Hunt’s own fate.
The squad assessment usually has to be done in consultation with the technical team, but given that there’s uncertainly around Hunt’s future, this has been delayed.
As previously reported by the Siya crew, Chiefs are still backing their mentor for the remaining matches of the 2020/21 domestic campaign as well as the CAF Champions League, but the hierarchy, sources say, remains divided on Hunt’s long-term future.
If they were to sack him now, it would destabilise the team, the Siya crew has been told, though Amakhosi already look a team in disarray.
It’s this pending outcome on what route Chiefs are set to take on the coach, who signed a three-year contract in September last year, that has put a hold on the much talked about squad overhaul with the FIFA ban soon to be lifted.
“I have been told to wait on my search for a new club for my client and I suspect that is what has been communicated to others as well because it doesn’t look like Chiefs will keep the coach beyond this season,” an agent who spoke on condition of anonymity told the Siya crew when asked about the latest transfer movements.
Word coming out of Naturena is that Hunt is indeed on thin ice, but not just purely because of the results but how he has managed the squad, too.
The ex-Bidvest Wits coach has been very critical of the current crop of players at Chiefs, especially as he was unable to bring in reinforcements when he arrived because of the transfer ban imposed by FIFA for two windows.
Siya sources have also previously informed the crew that Hunt requested that as many as 15 players, including about 10 who are out of contract in June, be offloaded – in essence he was demanding a complete overhaul.
But the Chiefs hierarchy is understood to have told Hunt that his approach is unrealistic, and he may very well not be at Naturena come next season anyway.
Club supremo Kaizer Motaung was also quoted in the media last month, saying a complete overhaul was not possible.
Amakhosi have already lined-up their targets, but will wait until the FIFA ban is officially lifted on July 1 to make any announcements, though a decision on Hunt could be communicated a lot earlier than that, sources have said.
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