ZIMBABWEAN champions Caps United have backed coach Lloyd Chitembwe to even win the ultimate prize of domestic football for the second successive season, arguing that the championship is a marathon.
BY TAWANDA TAFIRENYIKA
The Green Machine on Tuesday suffered a shock defeat to Yadah, their second league loss of the season.
And with the loss coming a week after the champions had crashed 4-2 against Al Ahly Tripoli in the African Champions League which left them on the brink, an emotional Chitembwe suggested in his post-match interview that the results were not matching the expectations of the club which he said deserved better.
Chitembwe — who made history by becoming the first coach to lead them to the group stage of the African Champions League — said he took responsibility for the team’s performance and felt it was important for him to do a self-introspection and review his position.
“Naturally, it’s disappointing to lose. I know the expectations of the team, the expectations of the players, I think they gave their all, but unfortunately, it was never meant to be. But at the end of the day, it’s all about the coach.
“When you are a coach with such a responsibility, you need to look at yourself and critically review your position. You feel the club deserves more and better. When you look at yourself and you see your effort is not matching the expectations of the club, you feel it is important if there could be someone out there who could take the team further,” he said.
However, the club hierarchy, through chief executive Cuthbert Chitima, said yesterday while everyone was worried by the defeat, it was not a train smash and that they were very happy with their coach and what he had achieved so far.
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He said they believed they can still even go on to win the championship.
“While, everyone is worried by the defeat, that is what football is all about. We can’t win every match. The championship is a marathon; we can still win the championship. We are happy with what the coach has done for this club and we will continue to support him,” said Chitima.
The Green Machine, who have a backlog of fixtures owing to their participation in the African Champions League, remain in 14th place and 15 points behind log leaders Ngezi Platinum Stars.
Chitembwe’s men, who have already surpassed expectations by reaching the group stage in the African Champions League, face Egyptian giants Zamalek on Sunday hoping to secure maximum points to stay in the hunt for a quarter-final place.
They are at the bottom of Group B with three points, while Zamalek are second from bottom with five, with USM Alger and Al Ahly Tripoli sharing top spot on seven points each.
