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Hunt to play Chiefs-bound Ditlhokwe when SuperSport face Amakhosi
Hunt says he trusts Ditlhokwe to do the job for him when SuperSport United face Chiefs later this season.
Hunt invests a lot faith in Chiefs bound defender. Picture: Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images.
The many years of experience has taught Gavin Hunt that it serves a club no good to release a player if he has signed a pre-contract elsewhere.
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Hunt has a similar situation with defender Thatayaone Ditlhokwe, who is set to join Kaizer Chiefs next season.
Ditlhokwe, however, is still in the books of United and the club could have decided to freeze him out until the end of the season, as it is normally the case.
Hunt, however, has opted to play him even though he is leaving, and the Botswana national team skipper has shown great professionalism and continues to star in SuperSport’s defence.
“I can give so many examples where teams got rid of players and it cost them. Even when I was here the last time, we won the league with players who had already signed for other clubs. We called them in and I told them to not cheat the game, but respect the game and respect your contract,” said Hunt.
“If players want to leave, you have to let them go. Otherwise he has been fantastic for us and it is a big loss but right now he has nine games left and I told him to respect the game and it would pay him back. He is still giving us the same commitment and if he drops off, he won’t play,” he added.
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Matsatsantsa A Pitori will play Amakhosi in the last game of the DStv Premiership season, and Hunt has already made up his mind about Ditlhokwe.
“I think I will definitely play him against Chiefs,” said Hunt.
“The team that he is going to let a player (George Maluleka who signed for Mamelodi Sundowns) go in the middle of the season,” Hunt recalled, as Chiefs ended up losing the lead in the league race, losing it to Masandawana on the last day.
“He took all of the corners and freekicks and they could not score another one since he left. So you need to keep players and players need to honour the game. Six months is a long time, it is not six weeks. Even if a player signs a deal somewhere else, I will still let him train for us. That is what the game is all about,” Hunt concluded.
