Gavin Hunt praises Pitso Mosimane ahead of Wits-Sundowns showdown

Gavin Hunt, coach of Bidvest Wits ©Samuel Shivambu/Backpagepix

Tuesday Nov 21, 2017. 14:00

Bidvest Wits coach Gavin Hunt has praised Mamelodi Sundowns counterpart Pitso Mosimane ahead of tonight’s Absa Premiership showdown between the teams.

The Clever Boys will host the Brazilians for the pick of three league clashes tonight. Wits come into the game having eliminated Kaizer Chiefs from the Telkom Knockout this past weekend, while Sundowns have had an extended period to prepare.

Hunt admits that he would have preferred points on the board rather than a strong cup run, following his team’s poor start to the defence of their league title, but reckons winning games is a good sign regardless.

"As I've said, [from] all these cup games you'd want to have league points, wouldn't you? It will help us, but football is what it is and hopefully we can just get a little bit [of points] this week and have a smile about the place," said Hunt.

"We know the task on Tuesday, against a very good side – a good squad of players. Pitso has done well there. We know what we're up against and we're just going to have to battle through this period with what we've got."

The Wits coach also believes it’s a tough period for his side, who played Chiefs last Saturday, face Sundowns tonight and will then travel to the KwaZulu-Natal for a third game within a week when they take on Maritzburg United.

"Obviously the problem is you're playing against Sundowns on Tuesday and we played [on Saturday] – that makes a big difference," he explained.

"By the time you play your third game in a week, that team has only played their second game and, with our squad the way it is – with nothing coming back [from injury], it's a problem."