Hunt – no fans gives Chiefs, Pirates and Sundowns an advantage
Hunt's side will face Sundowns, Chiefs and Pirates in the space of seven days in a high-stakes resumption to the 2019/20 season.
Kaizer Chiefs coach Gavin Hunt (Photo by Anesh Debiky/Gallo Images)
Gavin Hunt believes that playing without fans could help Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns in the Premier Soccer League run-in, as it will alleviate the burden supporters sometimes place on their shoulders during matches.
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“People say the bigger clubs could struggle, but I don’t think so,” said Hunt on Thursday, ahead of Saturday’s Nedbank Cup semifinal against Sundowns at Orlando Stadium.
That match, like all games for the rest of the 2019/20 season, will be played behind closed doors, with the PSL creating a Biologically Safe Environment in Gauteng in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think there is normally a lot of pressure (from the fans) and maybe now it will be less on the three bigger teams,” added the Wits coach, whose side will follow the Sundowns clash with an Absa Premiership encounter with Kaizer Chiefs on Tuesday, and then another against Orlando Pirates on August 15.
“We play Sundowns, Chiefs and Pirates in seven days, a lot of players will make their debuts, for sure,” said Hunt, who has promoted eight players from his Multichoice Diski Challenge squad.
“It possibly wouldn’t have happened in a normal season, but we will take it from there.”
“Football is a funny old game.”
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