Hunt ready for tough Sundowns clash

Kaizer Chiefs coach Gavin Hunt says he will not be fooled by Mamelodi Sundowns’ 1-0 loss to Bloemfontein Celtic in the MTN8 quarterfinals last week as the teams prepare to meet in their DStv Premiership opener on Saturday.

Star-studded Sundowns suffered a surprise reversal at the hands of Celtic after a major overhaul of their squad and technical team, but Hunt says it will have no bearing on the clash at the FNB Stadium.

“They’ve got a hell of a squad of players, where they’ve retained everybody and added, so we are under no illusions as to it’ll be a very tough game for us,” Hunt said.

“Every opposition will give you problems.

“Anyone who understands football knows they should have won that game comfortably last week.

“We’ll take it as it comes on Saturday.”

Hunt has been unable to add to his squad with a transfer ban in place at Naturena, but says his move from Bidvest Wits has been helped by his knowledge of the team and the league, even if there has been limited preparation time for the new campaign.

“I know the league so that makes it a bit easier.

“I do know the players and opposition, those types of things, but certainly from my perspective, it has been very difficult because there has been a limited time frame to work with the players.

“I’m a new coach and I’ve come into a situation where there’s no Carling Black Label Cup exhibition match where you can have a look at what you have.

“There’s also no big preseason friendlies, which usually happens, so those types of things help you as a coach when coming into a new club.

“So I haven’t really had that much time, but I can’t use that as an excuse.

“I think as the season progresses you’ll start seeing teams getting better, such as finding their combinations as they get more time to work together.”