28.05.2021 18:41 h

Kaizer Chiefs axe coach after reaching CAF Champions League semis

Kaizer Chiefs sacked coach Gavin Hunt on Friday despite him leading the South African club to the CAF Champions League semi-finals, where they face Moroccan side Wydad Casablanca next month.

The 56-year-old lasted only eight months at the Soweto outfit, paying the price for poor domestic form as Chiefs lie 11th in the national championship with two rounds remaining.

They also fared poorly in two knockout competitions, losing home and away to arch-rivals Orlando Pirates in the MTN8 semi-finals and to second-division Richards Bay in the FA Cup first round.

Chiefs have won a record 53 domestic competitions since being formed in 1970 and are owned by the Motaung family, with former national star Kaizer Motaung, 76, the chairman.

But after winning an average of more than one trophy per season for decades, Chiefs have failed to add any silverware since 2015, when they topped the league table under British coach Stuart Baxter.

Chiefs said assistant coaches Arthur Zwane and Dillon Sheppard will take temporary charge and Baxter is expected to succeed Hunt on a permanent basis.

Baxter has coached South Africa twice, guiding them to the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals in his second spell after a shock victory over hosts Egypt.

His last post was with Indian Super League club Odisha, who fired him three months ago when he made inappropriate post-match remarks about rape on TV.