SuperSport United striker Thamsanqa Gabuza says he’s put in the hard yards to convince head coach Gavin Hunt he’s capable of helping him with his ambitions to bring silverware back to the club.
After a four-watch winless start to his second tenure at the club, questions marks began to raise about Hunt and his youthful squad, more specifically to Gabuza when he missed an open goal against his former club Orlando Pirates during the 0-0 draw at the Lucas Moripe Stadium back in August.
However, they’ve turned the tide with six wins from their last seven league games to move into third place, five points behind league leaders Mamelodi Sundowns with one game remaining before the 2022 FIFA World Cup break.
Gabuza admits he’s worked tirelessly to convince Hunt he’s ready to start games again, as it took until match week nine before his first opportunity in the starting eleven and he’s now started each of their last three games, scoring twice partnered alongside Bradley Grobler.
“It’s like working hard every day, you must know your strengths and as you see I’m playing with the leading goalscorer, Grobler, it’s always pushing me to work harder,” Gabuza said at the club’s training ground on Wednesday.
“Gavin [Hunt], has a winning mentality, his teams always have a winning mentality, like Wits, SuperSport before, he was winning trophies – and he comes here with that mentality to win trophies here again.
“He wants us to chase something out of nothing, we must win something [under him], we must play to win [silverware]. As a striker and you get a chance, you must score or create, that’s my job to do all the time.”
When asked about what unfolded after the Pirates game, where Hunt was left speechless and stated he may just practice shooting for an entire session, the 35-year-old suggested his behaviour in different environments isn’t the same and he’s received support from the manager to date.
“He’s a good coach like you see it’s different when he’s in training to maybe a live game and he’s different when he’s outside the pitch,” he explained.
“He’s like a father or a brother, he always wants more [from the team], like I said as a striker you want to score the goals and I’m a striker, when I get a chance I need to score or create – I must do something for the team.”
Gabuza has scored 22 goals and registered six assists in 100 games for Matsatsansa since his arrival from Pirates back in August 2019.
