Coach Gavin Hunt starting to look over his shoulder as Chippa continue to struggle

Chippa United coach Gavin Hunt is starting to look over his shoulder after the 4-0 DStv Premiership thrashing by rampant Kaizer Chiefs at FNB Stadium on Saturday left them sitting third from the bottom.

Chippa have gone six matches without a win, a poor run that resulted from four losses and two draws, and this has put him in the sights of the notoriously trigger-happy club chairman Siviwe Mpengesi.

“I experienced it [looking over his shoulder] for the first time in my career last year,” said Hunt after they were demolished by Chiefs where Keagan Dolly sparkled with a brace and an assist, and Khama Billiat and Lazarous Kambole scored a goal each in the second half.

“It was the first time for sure and maybe this will be the second time, who knows. But I try to work for the longevity of the club, which is what we did last year as well by bringing in players.

“I’ll try to do it again here because I have a good crop of players to put the club in good state but you need time.”

Hunt also explained that they are in this situation because he has not been able to sign players due to budgetary constraints.

“I had to try and operate in the free market space which is not the easiest thing in the world to do. We had to work within a budget and I got two players in Rodney (Ramagalela) and Phakamani (Mahlambi) and they are both out for the season.

“You can say whatever you want to say, but our striker hasn’t scored a goal. If you saw, we could have had seven or eight ourselves which is unbelievable. We are creating chances but you also have to defend better.

“I have a defender like Roscoe Petersen who hasn’t played in the PSL for like eight years or ten years. We brought him in because he was free. We do a loan here and a free transfer there and we tried to put the puzzle together within a short space of time.

“I know that at a club like this we can win the league. You might say I am crazy but we can win the league if we sign players. You need time to do that and do you have time? I don’t think so.”

Last week, Mpengesi released a statement promising his support for Hunt but the coach refused to comment on the public backing by the coach.