HIGHLANDERS coach Benjani Mwaruwari fears his side’s chances of beating Dynamos tomorrow could be severely compromised after players skipped training for a fourth consecutive day yesterday over unpaid salaries and bonuses.
The Bosso players refused to train despite receiving one winning bonus on Thursday, maintaining their stance that they want the club to clear outstanding dues before returning to work.
Highlanders are owed May salaries and two winning bonuses, while members of the technical team have also been caught up in the payment crisis.
Mwaruwari admitted the prolonged boycott was disrupting preparations for the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League’s biggest fixture and making it difficult to plan for the encounter against their traditional rivals at Barbourfields Stadium.
“It is always difficult, sometimes the boys are in control. Sometimes if the boys are not training, it’s denting a lot of things, like we need to prepare the whole week for a game over the weekend,” Mwaruwari said.
“But if we don’t train, then a lot of things can go wrong. Hopefully, maybe they will come and train today (yesterday) or tomorrow (today), we don’t know.
Keep Reading
- Inside Sport: Local stadiums in urgent need of attention
- Big send-off for Cont Mhlanga
- Inside sport: The right way to do it
- Bullets ease relegation fears
“We still have to negotiate and try and see if we can persuade them to train and play this game.”
The former Warriors captain said the lack of training time was a major concern heading into a match of such magnitude.
“It’s difficult to even look for three points when we didn’t train for the whole week.
“But the game has to be played.
“So we will see what we can do with the boys if they are willing to train. That is my hope.”
The latest boycott comes despite assurances from Highlanders chairman Kenneth Mhlophe that the club was working to address the players’ grievances.
Mhlophe confirmed on Thursday that the club would be paying one winning bonus and promised that the outstanding balance would be settled after the Dynamos match.
However, the partial payment failed to break the deadlock, with players staying away from training as the countdown to the blockbuster clash continues.
The industrial action is the third in as many weeks by the Highlanders players, underlining the financial challenges being faced by the Bulawayo giants at a crucial stage of the season.
With tomorrow’s encounter fast approaching, Bosso now face the prospect of taking on Dynamos without having had a full week of preparations, a situation Mwaruwari fears could prove costly.
Dynamos coach Genesis Mangombe has, however, rubbished the standoff between the Highlanders players and the club leadership, describing the situation as “mind games” ahead of tomorrow’s clash.