REVEALED: Gavin Hunt helped Baxter select Bafana squad
Bidvest Wits coach Gavin Hunt advised Stuart Baxter on which players to select for his first Bafana Bafana squad.
Stuart Baxter and Gavin Hunt share some light moment (Photo by Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images)
Hunt says Baxter called him and they had a chat for about an hour on who deserves to be in the squad for the away clash in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Nigeria.
The former SuperSport United coach was overlooked for the Bafana Bafana job, having been a favourite to replace the sacked Shakes Mashaba.
“There are always going to be debates about those types of things‚ aren’t there. Everybody’s got their own players‚” the Wits coach said.
“Stuart and I‚ we spoke for about an hour – about the team‚ about what I think. I told him who I thought he should pick – not from Wits‚ from the league.
“Our strong part of our team [Wits] is our defence and midfield. So you take the midfield – there are a lot of strong players in Bafana in that area.
“I mean Stuart’s got a difficult choice to pick players there – he might have to play five in midfield just to give everybody a run there.
“So for me he’s got a difficult choice. No-one’s ever going to be happy with the selection.
“And I’m not saying I’m happy or unhappy. But I’m saying‚ with the public‚ generally‚ there’s always going to be a problem.
“But at the end of the day‚ what’s the most important thing? The result.
“Get that and everything will be forgotten. So I wish them well, and I’m sure he’ll call me again.”
