SuperSport United CEO Stan Matthews says he would love to bring back Daine Klate in the club as part of the technical team, but he’s not sure if he will want that since he has tasted what it is like to be a head coach.
In fact, Matthews said he was interested in bringing Klate in before he was appointed at Chippa United at the beginning of the season.
However, that move didn’t last long, as he was fired in September and was replaced by Morgan Mammila.
Klate was only in charge of seven matches, winning one which came against Orlando Pirates, losing four and drawing the other two. One of his draws came against SuperSport in the first game of the season.
He has been unattached since then and it is not clear what next for one of the most educated left footers in the PSL.
“I was interested in bringing Daine back before he went to Chippa,” said Matthews.
“I think now he has aspirations of being head coach. If so, then he needs to pursue that.
“But if there was a different kind of capacity or different role and he was happy to work within the structured environment with coach Hunt and Andre Arendse and Grant Johnson, for sure I’ll bring Daine back to the club.
“But one thing I don’t want to do is bring someone at a level lower than they aiming for because now he has been there and now he feels he wants to play in that space and now say ‘come and be the technical director or come be the Diski Challenge coach or come be a second assistant to Gavin’, it might not be what he’s looking for.
“As a personality or as a character and human being, Daine Klate is always welcome into my office, into my life.
“He’s a young man that is signed as a 17-years-old – I was there at his 21st birthday, I was there when his children were born. He has been at my children’s birthday parties since they were born, he’s someone I’m very close to, he’s the most decorated footballer in South Africa – a product of SuperSport that we were forever proud of.
“For me, I absolutely love Daine Klate.”
Klate, who made his PSL debut for SuperSport in 2004 under coach Pitso Mosimane, spent six trophy-laden years with the club, winning three consecutive league titles under Hunt in his first spell.
He scored 40 goals in 147 matches, before leaving to join Orlando Pirates ahead of the 2010/11 season. While he added two more league titles in Soweto, he returned to SuperSport in the second half of the 2014/15 season on loan.
He was reunited with Hunt again in the following season with Bidvest Wits, winning his sixth league title and fourth with Hunt in the 2016/17 season.
It is why Hunt was touched when he was fired at Chippa, saying it was a disgrace because the Port Elizabeth club did not fully support him.
Story by Robin-Duke Madlala (@duke_robin).
