I don't want to talk about it any more: SuperSport United CEO Matthews on rumours of club being on sale

SuperSport United CEO Stan Matthews is tired of fielding questions at the start of every new season about the club being up for sale.

The rumours of SuperSport being on sale reached fever pitch in the past few days, ahead of the club clarifying its position on Thursday when it also announced Gavin Hunt back as head coach for the next two years.

“Right at the outset (of the rumours) in 2019 I issued a media release to say the club is not for sale and no-one has come to us to say it's for sale,” Matthews said on Thursday.

“I did that in 2019, I did it in 2020 and I did it last year. I'm doing it again in 2022. So it's very frustrating and disappointing in a way that such a media frenzy about this thing comes out of irresponsible and misinformed journalism.

“I'm even wasting time talking about it right now. The club is not being sold and we've said what we've had to say about it.”

Matthews revealed that the playing staff was getting worried about the reports of the club being sold and he had to assure them that it wasn't true.

“I put out a memo to the players a couple of days ago when the rumours first broke  in case some of the players were feeling a bit edgy about it. Some had phoned  me.

“It is destabilising and upsetting. And disappointing that people want to keep targeting the club as being for sale. I think you've heard from the chair (Khulu Sibiya) today (Thursday) that the club is not for sale and we can put it to bed now.

“We've been answering this question for three years in a row and I'm still standing here now and I still have a club.

“We've won our trophy with Kaitano (Tembo) when the club was supposed to be sold (2019) and now we have Gavin Hunt as a coach and the club is supposed to be sold.

“I don't want to talk about it any more.”

Instead Matthews wants to talk about the coming 2022-2023 season, which he and Hunt believe they can finish in the top four.  Hunt won three back-to-back league titles with the club between 2008 and 2010.

Matthews insisted on this despite the club having sold their top experienced players Grant Kekana, Aubrey Modiba, Teboho Mokoena and Sipho Mbule to Mamelodi Sundowns in the past year and are yet to replace them. 

“We'll make three or four signings now to tweak and refresh the team. We have to do that,” Matthews said of their plans for the coming season.

“But we've got a solid base. I'd say 15 to 20 of the players within our squad are either in their mid or low 20s and we've a team now which, under a coach like Gavin, can be moulded into something.”

"Sundowns at the moment have such a big squad, a loaded squad, to play on two fronts.

“They're going to be very hard to topple. Maybe it's a step too far to challenge for the league title right now but can we finish in the top four? Definitely we can finish.

“Even last season we threw away a lot of points that could have seen us finish fourth. We could have got it last season. I'm saying we're confident in the nucleus of our players. 

“We're short of experience in the first team at the moment. Bradley Grobler had a lot of injury problems last season — and surgery — and tragically lost his mom last week. He's one of our experienced players, Siyabonga Nhlapo, Bash (Onismor Bhasera), (Thamsanqa) Gabuza, we've got a bit of experience.

“But we need to blend that in with a little bit more in the midfield especially where our oldest midfielder Jamie Webber is 24 or something. Then you're talking about (Selaelo) Rasebotja, (Thalente) Mbatha, Jesse Donn and Grant Margeman.

“These are all 24-year-old players. So we're going to look to add some stability in the midfield and some stability at the back and hopefully challenge for that top-four spot this season.”