SuperSport need miracle to win title

Supersport United are accustomed to success, but their chief executive Stan Matthews has banished any realistic chances of the club landing a fourth PSL title this season.Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix

Supersport United are accustomed to success, but their chief executive Stan Matthews has banished any realistic chances of the club landing a fourth PSL title this season.Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix

Published Jun 15, 2020

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SUPERSPORT United are accustomed to success, but their chief executive Stan Matthews has banished any realistic chances of the club landing a fourth PSL title this season.

Matsatsantsa are synonymous with silverware. They have won several trophies over the years. Between 2007 and 2010, SuperSport won the league title on three consecutive occasions. But they have hit a speed bump in the last decade in their pursuit to emulate that sensational success.

Even though they haven’t had much success in the league, they have built up a reputation as Cup specialists.

According to Matthews, they are more likely to push and win Cups in the future, rather than compete with the big guns for league honours, as they don’t have the financial muscle to compete in the PSL. Conversely, since their last league title back in 2010, SuperSport have won six domestic Cups - two MTN8 crowns, three Nedbank Cup triumphs and the Telkom Knockout title.

“It will take a minor miracle,” Matthews quipped, when asked about the probabilities concerning SuperSport winning the championship again.

“We are not there. It will take us producing a group of young, homegrown talent, all overachievers. It will take that for us to win the league because you got to go consistent for 30 games. Young players are not consistent.

“They have good games and they have bad games. That’s why I’ve got a team that has more points against the top four teams in the league then I have against the bottom seven teams in the league. Young players pitch up when they have to play Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates, Mamelodi Sundowns and Wits.”

SuperSport are still in the mix for the league title this season, despite Matthews’ belief to the contrary. The club are currently third on the standings, eight points behind table-toppers, Chiefs. Even so, Matthews insisted that winning the championship would be a long shot, saying: “When we played Stellenbosch, we couldn’t fight them.

“When we had to go and play Golden Arrows, we could fight them. At the end of the day for us, we have to balance our squad and look at what we got. Not what we would love to have, but what we got.

“What we got, is a very good group of football players. A very good technical team capable of going head to head with anyone on any given day. We’ve proven that against Sundowns, Chiefs, Pirates and Wits. I don’t think Gavin Hunt has beaten Kaitano Tembo yet.

“We’ve proved that we can compete against anyone. We’ve also proved that in 30 games we will throw a lot of points away. It is points that the likes of Chiefs, Pirates and Sundowns won’t throw away because they’ve got bigger squads and bigger players. When you have a league-winning team, and add Thulani Hlatshwayo, Deon Hotto, Kermit Erasmus, Aubrey Modiba and Thami Mkhize, who is going to compete against that firepower?

“Nobody. It is unrealistic to think of ourselves as title contenders. It is dangerous because you set yourself up for expectations that can’t be met.”

@Minenhlecr7 

The Mercury

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