BIDVEST Wits coach Gavin Hunt is concerned that his charges will have nothing to do if they are booted out of the Telkom Knockout early.
The Clever Boys face Maritzburg United in the Ziwa Mo last 16 round at the Harry Gwala Stadium on Friday (8pm).
Said Hunt: “The longer we stay in this competition, the more game time we will get. If we are knocked out early, we are forced to sit and do nothing.”
Hunt hopes that the stop-start nature of the Absa Premiership season will not affect his team’s momentum.
Before the Fifa International break, the 2017 Telkom Knockout winners were on a roll. They recorded three league wins in a row against Orlando Pirates, Chippa United and Stellenbosch FC.
Hunt’s charges are second on the log table with 15 points from six games. They trail leaders Kaizer Chiefs by four points, with two games in hand.
But they have been inactive due to the MTN8 cup final week and the Fifa break.
“I just hate this stop-start thing,” stressed Hunt.
However, the outspoken mentor has expressed his desire to go all the way to the final and win the trophy for the second time. The Clever Boys lifted the trophy in 2017 when they beat Bloemfontein Celtic 1-0.
Hunt did not hide his ambition of winning the knockout competition.
“We want to stay in the cup until the last day. But we have to get through to the first round first. It takes luck of the draw to go all the way. You don’t want to start off by facing big teams. We have the smallest squad in the league and that will drain all the energy in the team.”
The Clever Boys have an advantage over Team of Choice since they are unbeaten in their three trips to Maritzburg.
They have picked up two wins and a draw in KwaZulu-Natal.
Wits played two friendly games against lower division teams to prepare for the cup tie.
Hunt said that he has no injury concerns ahead of the match.
“Let’s just play the game. I’d rather play week in and week out,” he concluded
