AS the Highlanders executive committee appears to bulk under pressure from its members, the country’s oldest club has chosen that its next coach to replace Erol Akbay should be a former club player.
BY FORTUNE MBELE
Akbay, who had a tumultuous two years with the Bulawayo giants, punctuated by beefs with his bosses amid rising concerns of the club’s financial woes, leaves the country tomorrow for his native Netherlands.
The Dutchman failed on his mandate to win the league title which has eluded Highlanders since they last clinched it more than a decade ago.
Club chief executive officer Nhlanhla Dube has confirmed that they were in constant touch with the club’s sons who meet the Zifa requirements.
“The process of getting the best candidate to fill Erol (Akbay)’s position is work in progress. We have gone the route of head-hunting precisely from the coaches as directed by the resolutions made at the (mid-season) extraordinary general meeting. One was that we should go young, that is to promote what we have developed at Highlanders,” he said.
“So the majority of the players in the squad will come from the Highlanders family, the club system. The best way to do that will be to employ Highlanders’ sons. Within that basket, we are looking at who is available, who is possible and then we are going to come up with the final list. The coach that is coming will be instrumental in as far as choosing their immediate technical team is concerned.”
However, he would not reveal the names of prospective candidates, with most of them still attached elsewhere.
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Highlanders’ sons who meet Zifa’s requirements to coach a league team include Methembe Ndlovu, who last won the league title for the club in 2006 and is president of the Bantu Rovers Youth Academy, Madinda Ndlovu who is in Botswana, Rahman Gumbo, attached to Chicken Inn, and Bekithemba Ndlovu, who is assistant coach at How Mine.
“We want to do it (announce the coach) before the pre-season starts. It will be a process and not an event. By the time we start pre-season, we would have done this, but, of course, these revelations will be done as soon as the negotiation conclusions are done. The deadline is before the pre-season starts, all things will be in place. We have many Highlanders’ sons that meet Zifa standards, but out of respect for their current employers, I will not mention names,” he said.
