Nhlapo opens up on Hunt effect

SuperSport United defender Siyabonga Nhlapo has hailed the mentality coach Gavin Hunt is instilling at the club, saying this has been the driving force behind their latest results in the DStv Premiership.

It took SuperSport five matches before they could win a league match this season, beating Richards Bay FC 1-0 on the road, and it™s now been back-to-back victories after they won the Tshwane derby against Mamelodi Sundowns last week.

Nhlapo says it™s all about the Hunt effect.

"I think obviously, with Coach Gavin, the mentality he brings to the team - it's very interesting when you have somebody who's won things," said the 33-year-old.

"For me, especially when I was a bit younger from [Jomo] Cosmos, I got to work with him and he instilled that mentality, so I'm also a guide for him to the other players because I've worked with him.

"I normally tell them, whenever I get a chance to chip in, this guy wants to win. This guy doesn't have a second-place [mentality], he wants to be in first place - if you lose on Sunday then you cannot be beaten twice in the space of four days.

"So, that's what he brings to the team, the mentality to win. The small-sided games in training, everything that we do, the competition that's there shows, even though the [players] are young, they are capable of doing things the right way.

"Because they are professional players, so they need to train properly and play properly, and with that comes the mentality of winning."

By Velile Mnyandu