BY HENRY MHARA
TONDERAI Ndiraya will not stop criticising his players in public, with the Dynamos coach claiming that it is the only way to make his squad better.
The Glamour Boys put on a spirited fight in a 1-1 draw against city rivals Caps United in an enthralling Harare Derby on Sunday, a performance that drew praises from those who watched the match.
After the match, Caps United coach Lloyd Chitembwe congratulated both sets of players for producing a spectacle.
Chitembwe thought all the players had “really applied themselves well, and gave the fans what they always want”.
But Ndiraya was not entirely pleased, and just like he has done in recent weeks, he used his post-match Press conference at the weekend to once again let rip into his players.
“In terms of quality, in the past, we were not really up there. We are not there yet, and we will not be shy (to criticise). We want Dynamos to go back to where it should be and I will continue to criticise my players,” he said.
“We know the level of Dynamos Football Club, and that is where we want to go. So if players don’t perform and don’t work hard to try and get to that level, they deserve criticism.”
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Since assuming the reins at the club from Lloyd Chigowe early in the season, Ndiraya has often complained about the poor quality of the squad he inherited. Only veteran striker Edward Sadomba has been singled out for individual praise.
He said the squad needed at least five experienced players to compete at the level he wants.
Four (Archford Gutu, Godknows Murwira, Simba Nhivi, Evans Katema) have already been added into the squad in the mid-season transfer window, and all of them played the entire match on Sunday.
It was the first time Gutu and Murwira were given a start in the team since their return to the club, and the duo’s fitness levels was not 100%.
It was a huge gamble by Ndiraya to play the two, who have been inactive for a long time, and luckily for him, the risk did not back fire.
“When you acquire players during the mid-season transfer window, those are supposed to be impact players, who are supposed to come in and fix things quickly. So that is what we had in our mind when we brought in those players. It was not going to be reasonable to buy players and then sit them out. Previously, I bemoaned about the quality in our team, and clearly today you could see that it was a different Dynamos, despite the fitness levels of the players who played. We competed better, and with some bit of better fitness we could have won the game,” he said.
“The co-ordination is not really there, but going forward I think we will make it right. I’m satisfied with a point, but there is a level which we want to get to. We will have to give the guys time to improve, get their fitness right and I believe that we can fight with the best teams, come end of the season.”
Dynamos play Harare City next.
