Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Manqoba Mngqithi believes Kaizer Chiefs should have shown more patience with Gavin Hunt, adding that the four-time league-winning coach made history with Amakhosi.
Hunt was relieved of his duties at Naturena after a torrid run of results with Chiefs in 11th position on the DStv Premiership table and with only two wins in 16 league games.
After the former Bidvest Wits coach’s departure, Chiefs went on to win their last two games to sneak a top-eight finish.
While Hunt may have struggled in the league, he did make his mark in the Caf Champions League as he guided Chiefs to their first-ever foray into the knockout stages, guiding them all the way to the semi-finals before his sacking.
Chiefs will now be without a head coach as Arthur Zwane and Dillion Sheppard have interim control of the team heading into the Champions League semi-finals.
When asked about Hunt’s departure from Chiefs, Downs boss Mngqithi said that Chiefs should have been more patient.
‘All I want to say, is Gavin Hunt achieved something that Chiefs have never achieved before [leading them to the Caf Champions League semi-final] and he is out of a job,’ Mngqithi told the media during Sundowns’ celebration of four titles in a row in Mamelodi on Tuesday.
‘It is a story about our football. We change because we are emotional at times. Gavin has won four [league] trophies. He plays a certain type of football and he wins trophies with that type of football. Stick with it. But, if suddenly you say, “No, we are not happy with the style of football”, then why did you bring the coach in the first place?
‘You could not change him from what he has been doing over the years and, worse, he could not even sign the players he wants to play the type of football that he wants.’
The 50-year-old also feels that it is about time PSL teams start practising patience with their coaches and stop rushing to fire them when results were not coming.
‘Patience pays. Teams that are chasing coaches away are the ones who end up finding themselves having problems,’ he said.
‘Football is a team sport and it requires a little bit of the improvement of team dynamics and the development of those team dynamics. It is something that cannot happen over one, two months or three months.
‘Any coach, even the one who is not competent, will do better when he is given a little bit of time. There is so much more you can benefit by giving coaches time and freedom to run the team.’
