BY TAWANDA TAFIRENYIKA
DYNAMOS coach Tonderai Ndiraya is battling complacency demons haunting his players, still basking in the glory of their success at Mandava ahead of the weekend clash against Manica Diamonds in a Castle Lager Premiership tie.
Despite the odds having been staked against them, the Glamour Boys edged defending champions FC Platinum 1-0 in their own backyard in Zvishavane last Saturday.
Ndiraya inherited a team that was in disarray and low in confidence having struggled under the tutelage of Lloyd Chigowe.
The former Ngezi Platinum Stars coach has posted some positive results, which have seen him collect 11 points out of a possible 18 since he took over, and the victory over FC Platinum will add to the weight of expectation from the DeMbare fans.
And as he prepares his charges for the showdown against Luke Masomere’s Manica Diamonds, Ndiraya said he was battling to contain the over-excitement that has crept into his camp, which could breed complacency.
“It has been a difficult time, especially in the first two days of training after what I would say was a shock victory over defending champions FC Platinum,” he said.
“It has not been easy because after beating defending champions FC Platinum, the players start to think they can beat any team. But in football, it’s not like that and this is what I have been trying to correct.
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“The point I have been hammering home is that teams were not taking us seriously before this victory, now every team wants to beat us and that has put us under some pressure because of the result. It’s that psychological aspect I have been battling, but in the past two days and there has been progress, they are working hard.”
The Dynamos coach also revealed that skipper Edward Sadomba would not play a part in the match after picking an injury during the victory over FC Platinum.
Apart from Sadomba, Dynamos will also still be without their foreign imports, who are still sidelined through injuries.
“Sadomba will be out of the match after picking an injury in the match against FC Platinum. The foreigners are also still out because of injuries, but we expect them to start light training next week,” he said.
