‘Absolute rubbish’, says SuperSport’s Stan Matthews on being linked with the PSL CEO job

SuperSport United CEO Stan Matthews has rubbished claims he might return to being CEO of the Premier Soccer League (PSL) . 

The claims came while talks about SuperSport United being sold skyrocketed in the past few days.

Matthews, who on Thursday unveiled Gavin Hunt as the new club head coach for the next two years, said claims about him going back to the PSL (he was CEO in 2012)  were "absolute rubbish". 

"My name has been bandied around in an article that says absolute rubbish and has no substance," Matthews said on Thursday.

"I can't respond to that and it's not in the pipeline at all. I've been at SuperSport United FC for most of my professional life, except for a few months.

"I'm very happy where I am at the club and unlike you guys (media) who think the club is being sold, I see a bright future for the club.

"Obviously, for succession planning and all those type of things, the next three to five years are going to be a very exciting time for us and I'm looking forward to that. There's never been any discussion or anything at all around me going back to the PSL.

"The chairman (Irvin Khoza) had a press conference last week where he addressed this matter and it's not on the table. There's nothing to comment about that."

Focusing on SuperSport and the coming season, Matthews said four new players will be signed by the club now that they have a new coach in Hunt. The coach won three back-to-back league titles with the club between 2008 and 2010. 

"He's (Hunt) going to have great input. I didn't make any signings up to now because I was waiting for the new head coach," said Matthews.

"Everybody knows in our club that our coaches are responsible for results. It means they must have input and say in what happens about what we bring in.

"We haven't moved on the transfer market at all. I know the other question that's going to follow is about who is going where? Who's swooping and what?

" I haven't made any move because it's senseless to make a move and then a new head coach comes along and says he does not like what he found . What he knows and what everybody knows is what we had. 

"We're going to bring in three or four new players, maximum four players. The coach will have absolute input into that.

"If we can afford it, it will be his call. If we can't afford it he has to give me player B, player C, player D until I can afford. They will be the coach's pick.

"That's how we do things in the club. I can't make Gavin responsible for results and later I'm the one who has to fire him and say to him you must play with the players you find here.

"He's going to be given an opportunity to work with what we've got and an opportunity to change the complexion of the team by adding four players to before the close of the transfer window."