FORMER Castle Lager Premier Soccer League champions Ngezi Platinum Stars believe they have done enough to compete in the new campaign despite losing 13 players from last season.
The Mhondoro-Ngezi-based side yesterday unveiled six new players as well as this season’s kit, ahead of their season opener against newcomers Kwekwe United at Bata Stadium in Gweru tomorrow.
Among the new signings is goalkeeper Darlington Murasiranwa, previously based in Canada, where he featured for Valor FC, as well as the pair of defender Nyasha Gurende and striker Ashwin Karengesha from ZPC Kariba.
Clyde Jonga (FC Porto Academy), Francis Dylan (Turf Wolfs) and another goalkeeper Tendai Chirara (Green Fuel) are some of the new arrivals.
Last year, Ngezi Platinum Stars finished fourth in an unsuccessful attempt to defend title, which they look forward to challenge other contenders this season.
Coach Takesure Chiragwi is happy with how they have prepared for the new season and is confident of collecting maximum points against Kwekwe United.
“We just want to appreciate the sponsors and the board and management for making sure that we kickstart the season on a high note.
“I think we are ready for the competition and hope to start on a good note.
“Obviously we are starting away from home but we will try our best to make sure we implement everything we learnt from our pre-season training sessions,” Chiragwi said.
“We still have a few hiccups that we have to work on. We can only assess after playing this our first competitive game for us to improve as a team on relevant areas. But so far so good.”
He added: “It’s obviously difficult to lose the first-choice players, where you think you’ve done something good to have that continuity.
“We must know how we are going to solve and manage the situation, which is our job as coaches to make sure which ones come and add value to the team.
“But we also took the advantage to make sure we can also promote players from the developmental side that we thought can also come in and give value to the team.”
Some of the players who left the team include long-serving goalkeeper Nelson Chadya, Nigel Makumbe, Tinotenda Murasiranwa and Never Tigere, to mention but a few.
Team captain Qadr Amini is wary of playing debutants Kwekwe United in their first match of the season.
“We know we are playing Kwekwe United, a newly promoted team. You know, for them, it’s a big game because they are playing Ngezi Platinum. As you know, Ngezi Platinum Stars, we are now a big club. So, they will come guns blazing wanting to disrespect us or to win against us,” Amini said.
“But, we are going to play our normal game. We are not looking for anything else, but for a win. You know, last season, we started on a slow note.
“We want to rectify this season. We want to start on a high note rectifying our problems. But, I know we are ready for this season. The guys are ready and we can’t wait for the season to start.”
Club president Wadzanayi Mutsakanyi wants the team to make a statement of intent through top-notch performances in the upcoming season.
“What we need to do is to make a strong statement at the start. We know there is too much noise in the premier league. But we need to make our noise in the pitch, starting with our away match against Kwekwe United,” Mutsakanyi said.
“Likewise, our junior and female teams, we all need to make our noise by playing and producing good results in the pitch.
“The good thing about us this time is that they have written us off and we need to go out there and prove that we are still a formidable team.
“So I challenge you to go out there and do all you can to raise our brand high and we can only achieve that by winning games and I’m very positive that we can achieve greater things this season.”
Club chairman Leonard Musariri challenged the players to ensure they win the award for the most disciplined team with the way they conduct themselves on and off the pitch.