Hunt talks Tyson’s rise after Orlando Pirates disappointment

SuperSport United coach Gavin Hunt has explained how he has helped Thulani Hlatshwayo get his groove back following what was a disappointing Orlando Pirates stint.

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Tyson, as Hlatshwayo is affectionately known, has been in stellar form for Matsatsantsa this season, playing every minute of their 13 league games.

And what has stood out is that he no longer makes the costly defensive mistakes that made him unpopular among the Pirates fans two seasons ago.

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Now, according to Hunt, what he has done is to play Tyson to his strength and he believes the 32-year-old has matured since joining SuperSport United.

What Hunt has also told his defenders is to avoid playing closer to their penalty area when building from the back in order to minimise errors.

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HUNT TALKS TYSON’S RISE AT SUPERSPORT UNITED

“It’s very simple – play to his strengths, like any footballer, don’t ask them to do things they can’t do. Ja, so, that’s basically [it] – play to his strengths,” said Hunt to SABC Sport.

“Why do things… Also, in his position, for me, centre-backs only mature after 30. And I say this, if you go around the world, who are the best centre-backs? Generally, most of them are over 30 – the best ones,” he added.

“And I think in that position, maturity takes [time]. Whatever happened, happened with him, we all know. But it would never have happened if another scenario didn’t happen, that’s the bottom line. We sold the club and everybody went [their separate ways].”

“Well, like my old theory is, I tell the goalkeeper, don’t give the ball to the centre-half and I tell the centre-backs don’t get the ball from the goalkeeper. So there’s no argument, nobody gets the ball and we solve the problem. It’s a very simple [solution],” he added.

“I don’t want you to get the ball inside the box, so if you’re going to get it inside your big box – which is the world thing now, you’re going to have to make sure, my friend, that it’s very accurate on these bumpy pitches here in South Africa.

“You’re going to make an error, so why make the error [in and around the box], let’s make an error on the halfway line, so get the ball there [from the goalkeeper].”

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