Johannesburg – Kaizer Chiefs coach Gavin Hunt has played down any advantage he might have from intimately knowing seven Orlando Pirates players after having been in charge of them at former club Bidvest Wits, even if he knows “where they live”.
Pirates are Chiefs’ Soweto derby MTN8 semi-final first leg opponents on Saturday at Orlando Pirates. Bucs have signed four players from now defunct Wits after the club was sold to TTM at the end of the 2019-20 season – Terrence Dzvukamanja, Thulani Hlatshwayo, Deon Hotto and Thabang Monare.
Hunt was asked about his inside knowledge of the core of Bucs counterpart Josef Zinnbauer’s line-up – only Monare of the seven ex-Wits players has not featured in Pirates’ three games this season.
“I don’t think it makes any difference. Yes‚ sure‚ I know all of them. I signed all of them‚ so I know them very well‚” the Chiefs coach said.
“But I don’t think it makes any difference. It’s like doing video analysis of the opposition. I think it’s the most overrated thing in the world.
Because you can talk all day‚ talk all day – the player’s got to do it on the day. [Give them] one or two things here and there. Less sometimes. Sometimes the player’s got to take the responsibility.
“But sure‚ there are seven of them [Hunt’s ex-Wits players] there [at Pirates] at the moment. I think six or seven of them are playing. So‚ yeah‚ I know their ins and outs‚ where they live‚ everything.”
