Hunt wants Chiefs to be brave to reach Champions League group stages
"The situation is a bit disconcerting but that’s what you should expect when you play in this competition," added the Chiefs coach on conditions in Luanda.
Kaizer Chiefs and coach Gavin Hunt are said to have settled their disagreements over the recruitment policy. (Picture: Gerhard Duraan/BackpagePix)
Kaizer Chiefs must overcome tricky conditions in Angola and their own aversion to scoring if they are to progress to the group stages of the Caf Champions League, when they take on Primeiro Do Agosto on Tuesday in Luanda.
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Amakhosi have found it tricky to prepare in Angola, with the country seemingly applying strict rules to Chiefs in the light of them coming in from COVID-19 swamped South Africa. Head coach Gavin Hunt confirmed that they were not permitted to train on arrival in the Ugandan capital on Sunday.
“We would have liked to train on Sunday, but we were not allowed,” Hunt told the Chiefs website.
“We did a bit of preparation in South Africa so the restrictions here in Luanda won’t affect us much. The situation is a bit disconcerting but that’s what you should expect when you play in this competition, so we need to be brave and play positively and hopefully score that important away goal.”
Chiefs badly need at least one away goal having only managed a goalless draw in the first leg, wasting a spate of opportunities in Johannesburg. That has been the story of Chiefs’ season, with most of their attackers mis-firing horribly, and they will hope to have Samir Nurkovic fit again onTuesday.
Hunt, however, warned that the Serbian striker, who has not played yet this season after a groin operation, is still not 100 percent.
“It’s a big plus having Samir Nurković back from injury but he’s not very fit and hopefully we can get him up to speed as soon as we can,” said Hunt, who will be without the injured Itumeleng Khune in Angola.
“We should be careful about putting all the pressure on him (Nurkovic), but slowly he will get back to his best.”
“We expect Primeiro de Agosto to be a different side when they play at home, but we need to create chances and get that important away goal as quickly as we can,” added the Amakhosi head coach, who is hoping to guide Chiefs into the Champions League group stages for the first time in their history.
Kick off for Tuesday’s game is 5pm SA time.
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