BY HENRY MHARA DYNAMOS assistant coach Gift “Umbro” Muzadzi says the team is focused on their match against Herentals on Sunday and has not been distracted by the suspension of coach Tonderai Ndiraya last week.
The club’s executive pulled the plug on the former midfielder for alleged insubordination, a decision that has not been well received by the team’s stakeholders.
Asked how big a distraction to the team had been Ndiraya’s suspension, Muzadzi said: “In life, when you lose someone, like a member of the family, obviously it is sad and there would be some worried faces, but at the same time, we know the coach hasn’t been fired. The executive told us that he is still the head coach of the team, but he is just on suspension.”
“We are taking the situation the same way we do when a player is suspended for a game or two games. The coach is on suspension, which could be lifted today or tomorrow, so we are hoping that they will sit down and clear the air so that he can come back to work and finish the job we started together.”
Ndiraya was expected to appear before the club’s disciplinary committee yesterday, and Muzadzi is hopeful that he will be reinstated quickly.
“’It is a worrisome issue and everyone is worried and to the supporters, who are the team’s main stakeholders, we ask them to remain positive because we are sure the coach is coming back,” he said.
“They must not lose hope because it’s just a misunderstanding between the management and the coach, but I don’t think it’s a big issue. We are professionals and in football, at times we don’t agree on certain things, but at the same time, we have to see the team moving forward.
“Some people might think coach Tonde is gone, but personally, I think he is still around from what the executive told the players when they addressed them here this week. He is still the Dynamos head coach and he will be back soon.”
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In the absence of Ndiraya, assistant coach Naison Muchekela, with the assistance of Muzadzi, took charge of the team’s training sessions ahead of their clash against the Students at the National Sports Stadium.
“We are adults and professional as well, so we know situations like these happen. We spoke to the players and told them this was not the end of the world. The coach is not gone, he is still around so we have tried to psyche them up psychologically so that they don’t get distracted. The boys are ready and everyone is looking forward to a positive result from their discussion because i understand the hearing is on today (yesterday),” Muzadzi added.
Dynamos are going into the match on a winless run of two matches.
They drew away to Bulawayo City and their match against Highlanders a fortnight ago was abandoned in injury time, at a time the Harare giants were losing 1-0.
“We are very much concerned about the winless run. Every coach wants to win every game, but in football, you can’t win them all. But we can’t say we lost the match against Highlanders because it was abandoned and we don’t know the outcome of that game,” Muzadzi said.
There was no domestic action last week as the league bosses tried to look for solutions to the hooliganism issues at football matches.
“We have regrouped as a team since that game and that break gave us time to restart,” he added.
“We had a very good preparation and (the break) was an advantage to the team, maybe the entire league so I can safely say everyone is ready. The players are refreshed so I’m hoping on Sunday we can get a good result from what we did before the break.”
The former Dynamos goalie said the break also afforded injured players time to recuperate, with left back Brendon Mpofu expected back in the team.
Tino Muringai has also started training, but the Sunday match would be too soon for him.
Dynamos have won twice against Herentals and lost once, and drew the other match.
“They are our bogey side, but with what we want to achieve (winning the title), I feel that we are going to deliver on Sunday. We are going to make sure that we get maximum points,” Muzadzi said.
DeMbare will be without their posterboy, Bill Antonio for the match as he serves suspension for the red card against Highlanders
“Every coach wants his best player on the field of play every time, but he is suspended and the guy who is going to replace him must also deliver. It’s a big blow to the team, but as well it’s a chance to the other guys who were not getting opportunities to prove themselves,” Muzadzi said.
A win for second-placed Dynamos could see them return to the top of the log standings.
- Follow Henry on Twitter @henrymhara
