Stellenbosch head coach Steve Barker is closing in on breaking one of the longest serving spells in the PSL previously held by Pitso Mosimane at Mamelodi Sundowns.
The PSL merry-go-round of coaches over the years made the market of coaches very volatile in the country, even though such volatility is associated with leagues in North Africa.
The rate at which coaches are relieved of their duties seems to be even higher at the so-called small clubs than at big teams and so for a coach to stay at least a season at a moderate club should be considered a milestone.
Mosimane broke the cycle of a high turnover of coaches at Sundowns, as he became one of longest serving in the PSL, after staying at Chloorkop for seven years and nine months, before his exit in September 2020.
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Perhaps the most trusted coach in the PSL currently is SuperSport United head coach Gavin Hunt, who spent seven years and four months at Bidvest Wits between May 2013 and September 2020, his longest spell at one club, which was brought to an end after Wits sold their Premiership status to Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila in 2020.
Hunt had broken his own record of being at helm at SuperSport in his first spell, after coaching Matsatsantsa for seven years and four straight months between 2007 and 2013, his most successful, after three consecutive league titles between 2008 and 2010.
Mosimane also held one of the longest spells for a coach at SuperSport, for six years, between 2001 and 2007, before fully committing to assistant coach duties at Bafana Bafana.
The Kagiso native coach became the longest serving coach in Sundowns' history in his fifth year.
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Barker has entered the company of the most trusted coaches in the PSL, as by December 2024, he has already clocked seven years and six months of uninterrupted service since he was appointed head coach of Stellies in July 2017.
The former University of Pretoria coach needs the next three months to eclipse the longest spell that was held by Mosimane at Sundowns, which was longer than that of Hunt at The Clever Boys.