SuperSport United coach Stuart Baxter says he will do everything in his power to retain the Nedbank Cup trophy as they gear up to face Orlando Pirates in the final.
Matsatsantsa sealed their berth in the final after overcoming Golden Arrows in a penalty shoot-out after the game ended goalless. When quizzed about his commitment to the national team and SuperSport, the Scotsman stated in no uncertain terms that he can do the job.
“I’ll be coming back after Bafana Bafana and don’t ask me how I’m going to do it – I’ll be a boomerang coach and keep coming back,” he said in post-match comments.
“But I’m just glad for my players. They said to me before the game, ‘It’ll be great way to send you off’, but that’s irrelevant.
“The important thing is that if the players work as hard as they have done, like they’ve done this year, they deserve this final. I’ll do everything I can to win this trophy,” he added.
Baxter looks to clinch the trophy for the third time, having initially secured the title in 2008 with former side Kaizer Chiefs. This year’s final will be contested by the same two teams that featured in last year’s edition of the final, which saw SuperSport edge Pirates 3-2.
When quizzed about the management of his players ahead of his side’s CAF Confederation Cup tie against AFC Mounana in their second leg in Libreville, the 63-year-old said he had actually planned for it.
“Actually we were very happy to go through this,” he said alluding to the two hours of football played.
“We rotated the squad, because at least we didn’t use them in the first game [the league match on Wednesday last week against Chippa].
“Eight of them didn’t have the first game in their legs, which I think is why we had so many chances in extra time because Chippa were dead [tired].
“They couldn’t get out of their half and we were working them and we knew that. Moving the ball side to side and moving the ball between their lines was what we wanted to do,” he said.
Photo: Luigi Bennett/BackpagePix
— This story originally appeared on FourFourTwo