Kaizer Chiefs coach Gavin says he has liked Happy Mashiane from the first day he met him, while also praising the talents of Nkosingiphile Ngcobo and adding they need to get him playing in more advanced roles to better utilise his talents.
The two youngsters have been integral to Chiefs’ revival under Hunt, as they picked up three straight wins with their 3-0 victory over struggling Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila (TTM) at the FNB Stadium on Tuesday, after winning just one of the opening nine games.
Ngcobo, 21, and Mashiane, 23, were both on the scoresheet in successive matches and have linked up well with senior players Samir Nurkovic, Lebogang Manyama and Bernard Parker.
The youngsters have helped provide the drive and energy to navigate Chiefs out of choppy waters, but Hunt still expects more from the two youngsters.
'I think any good player can play with anybody. They can play with each other, so the idea is we want to try and play into Samir, but I mean we can’t all the time,' Hunt said post-match.
'If I can get him [Ngcobo] higher up on the field, which we can’t do at the moment because of other situations, we need to get the boy because he has some qualities.
'I think he got three or four goals ... now I’m not sure [three] this season. But we need to get him in those better positions more often because he has the ability. He is getting better. Hopefully, the combination can blossom a little bit moving forward.'
Hunt added that with Chiefs not able to sign any players because of the transfer ban, he had to throw the youngsters in the deep.
'Any successful football team will have that transition from young to old, but we need to get the balance right,' Hunt said.
'Sometimes the balance might be wrong because I know in the derby [against Orlando Pirates] I had too many of them playing. But we have to test them somewhere. We have to be careful how we do it, but in our situation, they have to play and they have to learn very fast.
'I liked Happy from the very first day I saw him because he is my type of player. He is fantastic.
'It has been a bit hectic. The most important thing was to try to get results and try to keep ourselves moving in the right direction.'
Chiefs are next in action when they take on Stellenbosch away from home on Saturday afternoon.
