Supersport United coach Gavin Hunt has set his sights on winning the Carling Knockout Cup ahead of their round of 16 clash against Kaizer Chiefs at Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday (20h00).

Matsatsantsa a Pitori, as the Tshwane-based outfit is affectionately known, missed out on the first piece of silverware of the 2024/25 campaign as they were knocked out of the MTN8 in the first round by recently crowned three-peat champions Orlando Pirates.

However, Supersport have established themselves as a top-flight side capable of competing for major honours, with their last cup victory dating back to the 2019/20 season where they won the top eight competition under Kaitano Tembo.

Moreover, Hunt, who won three consecutive league titles with the club between 2007/08 and 2009/10, has called for improvement in the Betway Premiership, attributing their 7th-place finish last season to the demands of continental duties.

“We obviously want to improve on last season, but I mean one point from fourth to seventh, I think. The CAF [Confederations Cup] took a lot out of us last year with our young squad, and that one point Certainly we could have made it up in a lot of games, but it didn’t happen,” he said.

The former Chiefs mentor went on to challenge his troops to do better in cup competitions as well as he aims to bring back the league cup to Tshwane, with the trophy eluding the Spartans since they last won it in the 2014/15 season under the sponsorship of Telkom.

“Obviously the cup competitions in South Africa have got a good value for money for everybody and bonuses, so we’ve got to try and do better and see our way through,” asserted Hunt who won the competition with the now-defunct Bidvest Wits in the 2017/18 season.

But the 60-year-old tactician has downplayed their chances against the rejuvenated Soweto giants saying, “Obviously we’ve got a hell of a game against a real good inform side at the moment, so it won’t be an easy task for us, that’s for sure; we are certainly the big underdogs in a game like this.

Interestingly, Supersport have won three of their last five matches against Chiefs, with the Naturena-based club winning the other two, including the recent one when they last met in Polokwane in April this year.