AMAZULU-bound Joey Antipas recommended new Chicken Inn coach Rahman Gumbo, who was unveiled by the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League champions in Bulawayo yesterday.
BY FORTUNE MBELE
Antipas was assistant coach to Gumbo at Motor Action before he took over after the latter had left to guide the Mighty Bulls to the league title in 2010.
Gumbo will be joining the Chicken Inn technical bench during the transitional period before Antipas and Prince Matore leave for new side AmaZulu in South Africa where they are set to start on July 1.
“We have worked together before (with Antipas) and we are very close friends and I don’t think it is going to be a problem,” Gumbo said yesterday. “Our philosophy is almost the same. The transition of me taking over from him is going be smooth.”
Before he was unveiled, club secretary Tavengwa Hara said they had known about Antipas’ move for a long time.
“We had already identified his replacement and took into account his recommendation,” Hara said. “We didn’t want a coach who was going to come here and demand time to acclimatise. Our target is to defend the championship and we don’t want to be number two. The coaches have worked together before.”
Gumbo, who has won championships in Zimbabwe, Malawi and Botswana, said he could achieve more with the team even though he still needs intimate knowledge of the players.
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“My targets are really higher than what I expect from myself. I always like to say the sky is the limit,” said the former Warriors coach. “I want to do more than what I did before when I was in the local league and Chicken Inn qualified to play in the Champions League and I have been there before. I want to go a step higher with Chicken Inn. But I have got to know the players first and the players to know me better, then we can set our targets to say let’s defend the championship or something like that.”
He was particularly delighted at the opportunity for him to return to Bulawayo where he was successful both as a player and coach with Highlanders.
“It feels good to be back in Bulawayo after such a long time. I think I left this town in 2001. It’s good to be here and joining a team like Chicken Inn, the defending champions in Zimbabwe. It is a bit of a challenge and that is why I accepted the offer. Chicken Inn is becoming a brand and I want to grow with that brand. To be quite frank, I am one of the big coaches in this country and I know there are a lot of expectations from me which I think is another challenge that I am really willing to take up and wrap up with Chicken Inn. I had several offers which I was considering, but Chicken Inn came up with a better offer and I found it hard to resist and one other advantage is that they are based in my home town,” Gumbo said.
He said he would soon be recommending to the executive committee his assistant, who is believed to be Southern Region Soccer League side Bulawayo Chiefs coach Thulani Sibanda.
