DYNAMOS coach, Paulo Jorge Silva’s days at the club appear to be numbered after his boss, Keni Mubaiwa yesterday revealed that they have given the Portuguese a target of 25 points from the first 10 matches.
BY TAWANDA TAFIRENYIKA
Having picked just one point from the first two matches, Silva could be out if he fails to win the next match against promoted Mutare City, as he would have missed the target.
He has to win the next eight matches to collect the maximum available 24 points, which should be enough to see him retain his job.
Mubaiwa, the club president, exclusively revealed to NewsDay Sport that they would sack Silva if he fails to reach the mark.
“We have given the coach a target of 25 points from the first 10 games. If he fails to meet that target, we will be left with no option but to sack him,” he said.
With the Glamour Boys having lost 3-0 to Chicken Inn, before being held to a 0-0 draw against David Mandigora’s Triangle at the weekend, it means any result other than a win would be unfavourable to Silva, as he tries to save his job.
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But the Portuguese gaffer’s stay at the club could have been prolonged a bit following the postponement of the weekend league matches to pave way for the Independence Cup semi-finals.
Dynamos are now scheduled to take on rivals Chicken Inn this weekend in a battle to play in the Independence Cup final.
While the Chicken Inn game is not included in the ultimatum, another loss to the Gamecocks could have far reaching consequences for Silva.
In Mutare City, who lost their two opening matches, Silva has what looks like a beatable opponent, but then, he has the Big Harare derby against old enemy Caps United soon after to deal with — a match that could seal his fate.
A look at Dynamos’ fixture list also paints a gloomy picture in the event that he manages to navigate his way past City and Caps United.
The list includes trips to Hwange and Chapungu, as well as big matches against FC Platinum and Highlanders.
With results hard to come by and faced with a huge task ahead, Silva has quickly moved to blame some members of his backroom staff, particularly goalkeepers’ coach Gift Muzadzi of sabotage.
Muzadzi has, however, denied the sabotage accusations, saying Silva is trying to make him a sacrificial lamb to cover up his glaring shortcomings.
But Mubaiwa appears to back Silva in the fight, with Muzadzi set to be shown the exit door this week.
“What we are going to do is we will meet with the coach, possibly tomorrow (today) and if the coach says he is not comfortable working with either Muzadzi or Lloyd (Mutasa), we will simply fire that person, because at the end of the day, the buck stops with the coach. So he should be given the opportunity to work with people he is comfortable with,”he said.
Mubaiwa said this also applies to other members of the backroom staff.
