SuperSport United head coach Gavin Hunt has explained why he is treating striker Bradley Grobler differently to other forwards like Zakhele Lepasa. Hunt believes that Grobler, due to his age and experience, needs to be handled differently in training, and not over-loaded with work, so he can perform to the best of his ability on match-days.
SuperSport bolstered their attacking department in the January transfer window after signing Lepasa on loan from Orlando Pirates. Hunt has suggested that he is working on getting the best out of Lepasa, who he says has a big potential but that potential has to come out, especially since he is different to other strikers at the club.
“Listen, if you look at him, you say ‘wow’ you know but we need wow to come out and he’s only settling in, give him a bit of time,” Hunt told the media at the club’s training grounds. “But I mean he’s different to what we got, that’s the reason he came, different type of striker, so let’s see how he does,” he said.
Grobler, meanwhile, is having a good season so far, as in addition to being a joint-top goal-scorer in the DStv Premiership with Peter Shalulile on nine goals, he scored his 100th career goal in the PSL in a 2-0 win over Maritzburg United.
Hunt went on to reveal that given the veteran striker’s age and experience, he treats him differently at training, where he does not over-load him with work, so he can get the best out of him on match-days.
“A player of Bradley’s (calibre) you need to take care of him more, you don’t want to flock him to death, run him everyday, he’s not gonna learn how to play football, I can’t teach him how to play football,” Hunt said.
“He’s at the age he should know, we just need to wrap him up a little bit in the week and let him go on a Saturday.
“I’ve handled him differently, the longevity in his career, you can’t flock him to death everyday,” he said.
The former Kaizer Chiefs coach also raised concerns over the durability of his squad, with a number of players, particularly on loan and short-term deals, set to return to their clubs, with Thatayaone Ditlhokwe also set to join Amakhosi at the end of the season.
“We could be decimated (next season), it’s another rebuild. You have people going back to Sundowns, it’s a major problem, it’s something we’re tackling everyday, it’s a real concern, very thin,” he added.
