AFTER winning his eighth domestic cup on Saturday, Bidvest Wits coach Gavin Hunt has now set his sights on the Caf Champions League.
Hunt guided the Students to their third trophy in two seasons when they claimed the Telkom Knockout, beating Bloemfontein Celtic 1-0 at Princess Magogo Stadium in KwaMashu at the weekend.
He has became the second PSL coach to have won all four major domestic trophies. The other coach to have achieved this feat is Pitso Mosimane of Mamelodi Sundowns.
The Telkom Knockout was the only domestic trophy missing from Hunt’s collection prior to the final.
The 53-year-old says he is eyeing continental glory, which has eluded him at both SuperSport United and Wits so far.
His Caf journey started in 2009 with SuperSport. They were eliminated in the first round of the Champions League by Kampala City Council of Uganda. In 2010 they were able to get to the second round in the Champions League, but got knocked out by Heartland of Nigeria. It was the same story in 2011, as they got booted by Egyptian giants Al Ahly in the first round.
With Wits he has played in both the Champions League (2017) and Confederation Cup (2016), and got eliminated in the first round both times. In 2016 they were knocked out by Azam FC of Tanzania and by Al Ahly this year.
Mosimane is the only coach who has won two continental trophies, the Caf Champions League in 2016 and Caf Super Cup in 2017. Hunt aims to emulate Mosimane and conquer Africa.
Said Hunt: “To be honest, no club wants to be in Africa. But that is something we will tackle next – and you’ve got to have the squad for it. Last year we were unlucky when we lost to finalists Al Ahly 1-0 in both legs. This time we will see when we get there, but first we wait for the draw in December. We’ll see who we get. I certainly feel there is a need for us to push and do well there.”
Although Wits have had a horrible start to their league campaign where they occupy last spot in the table, Hunt says he will be able to juggle both competitions next year.