DeMbare offer Ndiraya deal

By The NewsDay | Oct. 31, 2015 | 3 Min read

CASTLE Lager Premier Soccer League champions Dynamos plan to send their coach Tonderai Ndiraya on an internship in Germany after the Harare giants decided to appoint the gaffer on a substantive basis.

HENRY MHARA TONDERAI NDIRAYA (1)

The DeMbare executive was impressed by Ndiraya’s short tenure as coach, even though it’s likely that the club will miss out on the league championship this time.

They are looking at a long-term relationship with their former midfielder so much that they will invest in sending him to Europe to hone his coaching skills.

The defending league champions are all but out of the Castle Lager PSL title race, as they are five points behind league leaders Chicken Inn, with four games remaining in the campaign.

Their realistic chance of winning silverware this season lies in the Chibuku Super Cup, where they meet city rivals Harare City in the final at the National Sports Stadium this afternoon.

Ndiraya was appointed interim coach in mid-season after the team hit a bad patch under David Mandigora.

His brief was to lead the team to a fifth consecutive championship after his predecessor, Kalisto Pasuwa won four titles on the trot for the club.

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However, while it looks like the Glamour Boys will fall short of the title, the club’s hierarchy appear to have been charmed by Ndiraya and have decided to give him another chance.

Club chairman, Keni Mbaiwa yesterday revealed they were planning on a long-term relationship with him.

“The agreement was that he has to win the league to get the job or we will look for another coach. We are still in the race for the title, but even if he fails, I don’t think it would be proper to fire him. He has done remarkably well since taking over. He lost just once and is in the Chibuku final, which we think is a good achievement,” he said.

“We want to give him a chance to build his own team. We can’t blame him if he doesn’t win the league because he came in when our season was already off the rails. His record since taking over shows that he tried his best and deserves another chance.

“The team has improved since he took over and it can only get better. We want to send him to Germany and we have already engaged some people for him to get an attachment there. He is one of the country’s biggest prospects and we will stick with him. We can’t be seen to be recycling the old people who have nothing new to offer to the club and to coaching.”

This couldn’t have come at a better time for Ndiraya, as he prepares his team to face Harare City this afternoon.

The winner of the contest will represent the county in the Caf Confederations Cup next year, while the $75 000 victor’s purse is a major motivating factor.

The losing finalists will get a $50 000 consolation.

Speaking at a news conference on Thursday, Dynamos vice-captain, Ocean Mushure said the team’s impressive record in cup finals would carry them through.

“We have a good record in cup games, where we rarely lose. The club leadership is coming to our training sessions to boost our morale.

So I think we are going to win this match against Harare City,” he said.

Harare City is also hard-pressed to win the match to justify the huge investments they made at the start of the season.

Currently sixth on the log standings and effectively out of the title race, winning the Chibuku Super Cup offers comfort to a team that has failed to match pre-season expectations.

Harare City captain David Kutyauripo, whose troops reached the final last year only to be beaten to the trophy by FC Platinum in controversial circumstances, hopes to atone for their disappointment with a win today.

“It’s a great honour for us to reach the final again. Dynamos are a big team with a huge following and Harare City is a brand. We will try to get a goal in the opening minutes to unsettle them. We know if we score, the crowd can turn against them. It’s going to be one of the best Cup finals in history against Dynamos,” the former Dynamos player said.