United target African glory
SuperSport United chief executive Stan Matthews said the club intends to do more than just make up the numbers in the 2017 Confederation Cup.
|||Perhaps inspired by city rivals Mamelodi Sundowns in this year’s edition of the CAF Champions League, where the Brazilians have reached the semi-finals, SuperSport United chief executive Stan Matthews yesterday said the club intends to do more than just make up the numbers in the 2017 Confederation Cup.
It’s a tournament that is less glamorous than the Champions League, but offers continental glory nonetheless.
And Matsatsantsa will participate as a result of their status as the reigning Nedbank Cup champions.
Matthews also backed coach Stuart Baxter to handle the demands of being involved in another competition other than in the South African Premier League after the Scotsman came under heavy criticism while at Kaizer Chiefs following a perception that he viewed continental football as a distraction.
“I can’t speak for Stuart when he was at Chiefs, but he is a very competitive coach and he wants to win every game he plays.
“He is going to take Africa very seriously,” Matthews said. Baxter spent three years as Amakhosi coach and won two league titles in that period, but it was during a barren season in 2014 that the former Bafana Bafana trainer opted to continue fielding fringe players in the Confederation Cup that year, creating the impression that he had little regard for the tournament.
“Unfortunately the environment there (trips around the continent) doesn’t always present itself as conducive for clubs, but Sundowns have shown now that they have taken the most out of their opportunities and have a realistic chance of bringing home a gold star,” Matthews said.
“(Orlando) Pirates have absolutely been exemplary on the continent in terms of their application over the past couple of seasons and that has given us renewed hope.
“We haven’t played in Africa for three years now, but we have received a boost from seeing Pirates and Sundowns do so well.
“And last year we beat Pirates in the league opener and in a cup final.
“We feel we can trade blows with Pirates at any given time, while Sundowns were just a bridge too far for us, and everyone else to be fair.
“They have set a new bench mark with a record of points last season when they won the league.”
Matthews did not put immediate pressure on Baxter, who will continue with Kaitano Tembo as his assistant, to also challenge for the PSL title, suggesting that SuperSport actually preferred domestic cups - of which there are three in the MTN8, Telkom Knockout and the Nedbank Cup, a trophy they managed to win in May by thumping Pirates 3-1 despite Baxter only arriving four months prior.
“We have underachieved in the league in the previous two or three seasons to be honest. We have been there or thereabouts, but not as serious contenders after we won the league three times in a row (between 2008 and 2010),” Matthews explained. “It’s not easy to do everything. So we have gone back to our old philosophy of targeting cups because they are sexy and manageable.
“They hold you in the spotlight and take a little bit of pressure off while we keep grooming the younger players in the league to be realistic with our chances.
“You can’t win everything.” - The Star
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