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Kaizer Chiefs coach Gavin Hunt says after arriving in Guinea last week without an outright striker, he threw the dice by fielding Khama Billiat in that position not fully sure of the Zimbabwean striker’s fitness status.
Billiat played for 86 minutes and grabbed Chiefs’ equaliser as they forced the Guineans to a 2-2 draw which gave them the passage to the Caf Champions League quarter-finals.
Prior to the Horoya match, Billiat had featured for 24 minutes in a Premier Soccer League match in South Africa against Stellenbosch four days earlier, having last been last involved in competitive action in early January due to injury.
With Samir Nurkovic and Leonardo Castro injured to make the trip to Conakry, Hunt placed much of his hopes on Billiat for goals.
“It has been a major problem [having injured forwards].
You take Samir and Castro as well as Khama who played a big part last year in the club.
They have not been available for so many games this year.
At the beginning of the season we missed Samir then obviously Khama broke his leg.
Castro has been out for a lot of games as well,” Hunt told Marawa Sport Worldwide on Metro FM and Radio 2000.
“We went to Guinea with no striker or no number nine if you may want to call it that.
So we have not had the luxury to have more players available for a selection headache.
So with Khama, I took a big gamble by playing him because it was his first start back.
“During midweek he played 20 minutes so he hasn’t had much game time.
For him to play in a game of this magnitude I took a gamble.
You really feel his experience and qualities when he came through.
That was fantastic.
Khama, he just had little mileage in his legs and that helped us at the weekend.”
Despite Chiefs struggling in their domestic duties, Hunt has managed to steer Amakhosi into the Champions League quarter-finals in their maiden season of participating in the competition’s group stage.
Coupled with his history as a shrewd coach, that has seen Hunt’s name being mentioned as a candidate for the vacant Bafana Bafana job.
His name appears among former Bafana coaches Philippe Troussier and Carlos Queiroz but Hunt feels that the national team needs a coach on a short contract subject to extension if he qualifies the team for the 2022 Fifa World Cup.
“There is no doubt Safa need a local coach right now.
You have a month to a World Cup qualifier,” said Hunt.
“You can bring a foreigner in and he is not going to object from John to Peter.
He will say he knows all the players and can get a team in three or four days.
I think if someone comes in on a short-term job and see where we go you have a month to the next World Cup qualifiers.
“There are plenty of good and experienced local people who can come and do the job on a short-term basis.
If someone gets you through (to the World Cup) then you can say ‘here is a four-year deal, we can go forward from here.’
“(Troussier and Queiroz) are fantastic coaches but they will come in and have May 29 as the last game of the PSL season but on the fourth of June will be the first World Cup qualifier. So you have three days to work with the squad.
So you need somebody who knows the players.
Asked if he is willing to be that coach to take Bafana on a short-term basis, Hunt responded: “I’m dedicated to the game on Thursday (PSL match against Baroka FC) and that is my biggest focus.”
– Agencies
Online Reporter