Caps United coach Lloyd Chitembwe believes striker Evans Gwekwerere could be a world-class player if he works hard.
Chitembwe and Gwekwerere have been reportedly at loggerheads since the start of the Premier Soccer League season, an allegation the coach described as “imaginary”.
“Gwekwerere is a very good player and that is the reason why he is still at Caps. If he was not a good player I could have released him a long time ago. “The rift people are talking about is imaginary. I’m not that kind of person. Why would I clash with my players?” said Chitembwe yesterday.
“The contracts they sign clearly spell out that they take orders from the coach and if I feel that a certain player is disregarding my orders, there is no need for me to fight him, I will just fire him,” he added.
Chitembwe reportedly refused to introduce Gwekwerere at halftime during Caps United’s drab draw against Buffaloes last week.
Chitembwe said Gwekwerere was not in the right mindset to play in that match.
“Gwekwerere is going through a difficult time at the moment and most of the things have been caused by the media.
“I have never seen a player who makes headlines like him, not even in my playing days. I never experienced that. That alone is distracting him. I have banned him from reading the newspapers because some of the things that are written are negatively affecting him,” said Chitembwe, who also claimed he was no longer reading local newspapers for similar reasons.
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Gwekwerere was yesterday asked to train with the reserve side while all the other regular players were given an off day.
“He needs to work on his physical fitness and on his mental strength. He is one of the best strikers in our domestic league and with a right mindset, Evans could be playing for the Warriors right now,” Chitembwe added.
Caps are inactive in the league this week as their opponents Dynamos are engaged in the Caf Confederations Cup against InterClube of Angola.
