SUPERSPORT United CEO Stanley Matthews says he is delighted to see his team become the first to retain the Nedbank Cup and scoop up a R7 million pay day.
United beat Orlando Pirates 4-1 at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Saturday to retain the trophy they won last season when they beat the same team. Matsatsantsa a Pitori downed Bucs 3-2 in last season’s final.
Matthews said their objective for the season had been met.
Said Matthews: “After losing the Telkom Knockout in November we told ourselves we needed to win the Nedbank Cup.
“That defeat was a bitter pill to swallow. I’m glad we managed to end the season on a high. We have always wanted to be the first team to defend the Nedbank Cup successfully. We tried it in 2013 but were unable to do so when we lost in the final to Kaizer Chiefs.
“I’m really happy we finally managed to achieve a long term goal of ours.”
Matthews was on cloud nine after Saturday night’s match. He said he was happy to see the players give their coach Stuart Baxter a good send-off.
He said: “Obviously I’m still sad to see Baxter leaving but there is nothing I can do now.
“I’m glad Bafana Bafana get to have the best coach in Baxter. I was also happy to see players play their hearts out to make sure they give him a good send-off. I’m certain Eric Tinkler will continue where Baxter left off.”
Matthews added that they plan to start negotiations with Mandla Masango’s team, Randers FC, this week to try and persuade the Danish club to give them the player on a permanent basis. Masango was loaned to United for the season.
“We definitely want to keep him. We will see how everything goes with his team.
“We are also happy that Morgan Gould has agreed to extend his stay at the club for another season.
“In terms of new faces, we will discuss that with Tinkler but we won’t add more than three,” said Matthews.
