Beleaguered Bidvest Wits gaffer Gavin Hunt has dared anyone with designs on seeing him dismissed to come drag him kicking and screaming out of the club.
To say Wits have been diabolical as Hunt pulled a Claudio Ranieri (fired Leicester City manager) - winning the league one season and battling against relegation the following one - would be showering the dizzy defending Premier Soccer League champions with a fountain of praise.They have been a soulless pale shadow of the compact team whose efficacy and coherency sprung them to their historic maiden league title in 96 years of existence.
But, after his out-of-sorts Students posted a 2-0 victory over SuperSport United on Wednesday, Hunt was in a mood to tame alligators.
WHAT HAS DERAILED THEIR MOMENTUM?
"Me? Hah! baba, you have to chase me [out of] here, pull me out of here on horse and cart. No quitting," a defiant Hunt responded when quizzed on whether he was engulfed by thoughts of resigning in the face of three wins and eight defeats in 16 matches.Yes, there were extenuating factors to Wits' season, such as injuries to key players including skipper Thulani Hlatshwayo, Buhle Mkhwanazi and No1 goalie Darren Keet.
However, diagnosing the ills at Wits doesn't excuse Hunt from standing at the centre of what has derailed their momentum this season. Chief among those factors are:
• A consistently inconsistent starting XI. Bafana Bafana left-back Sifiso Hlanti is the only player who has been a regular starter. No team can master rhythm and results when its rearguard and frontline is changed like Cyril Ramaphosa's socks.• The club didn't try harder to keep loanees Cuthbert Malajila and Mogakolodi Ngele, who featured prominently in Wits' title-winning team and returned to their parent club, Mamelodi Sundowns, in July but haven't been of any significant use at Downs.
Hunt - a four-time league champion with over 750 matches under his belt - was his usual anxious self trying to explain his club's form this season.
He insists he will not throw in the towel and leave the club in the kind of nightmarish conundrum he's put them in."The structure was explained and everyone was satisfied."
Another player added: "Jose pleaded with us to get the team out of the position we are in. He said he could not fire the coach because in 15 months he has won three trophies for the club, the MTN8, the league and Telkom KO. You could see in the way we played against SuperSport that we are back."
Wits are scraping the bottom of the PSL barrel with 14 points from 16 matches. They are away to Chippa United at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium this afternoon for a 3.30pm kickoff.
They'll be looking to reverse the 2-0 first- round loss via a Samuel Julies brace.
• bbk@sundaytimes.co.za and hadebes@sundaytimes.co.za..