Mental strength prioritised as SuperSport United plot revival

United dropped a bombshell last week when they parted ways with the club’s most successful coach Gavin Hunt, following a string of poor results that left them second from bottom on the Betway Premiership log. 

The Tshwane side next host Cape Town City at New Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane this weekend, and Johnson says the players’ mental strength is key.

"A lot of the things we need to do differently is more of a mental thing – get the players more positive approach, get them confident in themselves," said Johnson.

"Because when you're at the bottom there, and you've had a couple of losses, people become a bit negative and they stop believing in themselves, and that's something we need to change.

"We need to get their confidence up, get them believing in themselves, and let them know that they are the best players in the country."

Currently 15th on the log, with 21 points from 21 matches, just two wins could see SuperSport jump to ninth, depending on results of the teams above them, and Johnson says they have the players to get out of their current predicament.

"We're not even focussed on that [relegation] – from our point of view, we've got to take it game by game, every game from now until the end of the season is a cup final, and we've got to see it as that and treat it as that," he added.

"So where we're sitting on the table, I don't think we should be there, we've got a very good team, we've got some quality players with some depth in the team, and I'm confident that we can get out of trouble."

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