THERE will be no quick fix for ailing SuperSport United.
So said new Matsatantsa a Pitori head coach Stuart Baxter, who watched his charges crash 3-1 to Ajax Cape Town in an Absa Premiership showdown at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Sunday.
Baxter admitted he had a lot of work ahead after replacing Gordon Igesund last month. This was his second game in charge following their 1-1 away draw against Bloemfontein Celtic.
Said Baxter: “We have a quality squad but it will take time. The challenge excites me.”
The first priority for the former Kaizer Chiefs mentor is to tighten his defence: “Our team’s defending needs to be better. It’s something I need to get right. Once we get that right we will see the team attack more and we’ll see a different dimension.”
Baxter said he was not worried about the so-called lack of hunger from his players: “The hunger is there. We have to build the belief and confidence. It’s my job now to get that buzz back.”
Baxter stressed: “I don’t need to be told of targets. I like winning. I did it at Chiefs and want to bring that success to SuperSport too. “It’s been a long time since SuperSport won the league and it won’t happen overnight.
This is a different project to Chiefs. The players know I did a decent job at Chiefs and I hope that rubs off on them once they get to know me.”
Baxter won the league and cup double twice in three seasons at Chiefs.
He was delighted with Kingston Nkhatha’s brilliant late first half goal that saw the team go into half-time with the score level at 1-1.
Baxter was a big admirer of the Zimbabwean striker when he coached Nkhatha at Chiefs.
Said the coach: “That was fantastic goal. But Kingston has a different role at SuperSport than he did at Chiefs. Kingston and Jeremy Brockie are playing as a twin attack.”
Baxter took the blame for the defeat by changing the team’s shape at half-time: “I put my hands up. The changes did not work. We lost control and initiative after we conceded the second goal. But it’s early days. I been here just over a week and we’re all learning.”
Baxter’s next task is a home Tshwane derby against struggling University of Pretoria at the same venue on Sunday.
