By Sports Reporter YADAH FC coach Genesis Mangombe is confident of building a strong squad in time for the resumption of Castle Lager Premier Soccer League next week after the club was hit by a player exodus during the just ended transfer window.
Skilful forward Issa Sadiki, who has been captured by Harare giants Dynamos, is one of the key players to have ditched the Miracle Boys.
Other players such as Kudakwashe Mangami, Bright Chayambuka, goalkeeper Tanyaradzwa Huni and veteran defender Godfrey Mukambi, who formed the backbone of the club last year, have since left.
Yadah were one of the better teams in Chibuku Cup last year despite failing to qualify to the knockout stages of the competition.
The Walter Magaya’s Prophetic, Healing and Deliverance Ministries-sponsored side has already made preparations for the resumption of the league after carrying out trials and recruiting new players last month.
“I have a lot of players who are leaving the team and some of them were the backborne, but it is a game of football. We have to make it happen for the continuity of football,” Mangombe told NewsDay Sport.
“We have started training and this is the second week. We have been training and everything seems to be in order as we are working on our combinations.
“I am also making sure that new players gel into the system because we have a few players who are coming in and the bulk of them are junior players so we want to try and make sure they understand the system and the philosophy,” he said.
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Yadah staged a miracle escape from relegation on final day of the 2019 season, having looked dead and buried.
However, Mangombe is of the view that the club has come of age and no longer wants to carry the small team tag.
“We are targeting a top four finish and it is not going to be easy. We going to fight and make sure we survive. We are no longer a small team because we have been there in the league and we have tested everything.
“We are going to leave a mark as well as surprise a lot of big teams because we are not going to dwell much on the previous seasons.
“We are starting afresh and we want to make sure that we please our fans. That is our main target to make sure our fans are happy with the way we play even if we are losing.
“We want to have our type of play, we want to have our identity and everyone is going to be aware that Yadah play a passing and entertaining game but posting good results as well,” he said.
Yadah currently sit on 15th place on the 18-team log standings with two defeats and one draw from the first three league matches before the break.
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