By Petros Kausiyo
AMBITIOUS Premiership side Shooting Stars have fired their coaching department — headed by Joey “Mafero” Antipas — with the Warriors assistant coach paying the huge price for the Wild Boys’ sudden plunge in form.
Antipas becomes the fourth Premiership coach this season to lose his job because of poor results after Dynamos’ David Mandigora, Beavan Gwamure of Underhill and Motor Action’s Lindile Dube.
The veteran coach had been in charge of Shooting Stars for exactly a year, having arrived in June last year and took them from the lower half of the log table to a decent fourth place finish last year behind champions Monomotapa, Dynamos and Njube Sundowns.
Antipas had, however, watched in horror as Shooting Stars slid from third position to 13th on the log table in the last month and yesterday the club’s chiefs wielded the axe on the Warriors assistant coach.
He was fired together with his assistants, Stanford “Stix’’ Mtizwa, Partson Ndabambi and team manager Charlie Jones. Shootings Stars also moved in quickly to appoint the seemingly inseparable pair of Lloyd Mutasa and Callisto Pasuwa as head coach and assistant coach.
The Wild Boys management retained goalkeepers’ coach Emmanuel Nyahuma while former CAPS United treasurer Ziyambi Ziyambi also made a surprise return to mainstream football administration yesterday when he was unveiled as the new Shooting Stars team manager.
Shooting Stars president Joel Sengeredo announced the reshuffle at the club and also introduced the new coaches to the players shortly after the Wild Boys’ morning training session at the University of Zimbabwe grounds yesterday.
Sengeredo said Nyahuma had initially been fired together with Antipas, Mtizwa and Ndabambi but the former Black Aces goalkeeper was retained following a recommendation by Mutasa to keep the soft-spoken coach.
The Shooting Stars president said Antipas and his assistants were dismissed purely on results, which have seen Shooting Stars manage just two points out of a possible 18 in their last six games.
After a promising start to the season during which their fine passing football won them the admiration of many neutrals in the league, the Wild Boys, who boast talented players like Pride Tafirenyika, Thembani Masuku and Elliot Matsika, and have somehow terribly lost form.
Shooting Stars have not tasted victory since April 27 when Matsika rose from the bench at Gwanzura to fire home a brace that gave them a 2-0 win over debutantes Eagles.
Antipas’ two other wins in 13 matches came courtesy of victories over ailing Black Rhinos and Mutare newboys Highway.
Sengeredo said Shooting Stars’ current position on the log table, in which they are 13th with just 14 points from 13 matches, had been cause for serious concern within their camp and after a “soul searching exercise’’ it had become inevitable to change their coaching department.
“We have made the necessary changes and the affected coaches have been informed and they have all accepted that this is what happens in football when the results are not coming.
“So with effect from today (yesterday) we have appointed Mr Ziyambi as our team manager, Lloyd Mutasa as the head coach assisted by Callitso Pasuwa and Emmanuel Nyahuma who remains the goalkeepers’ coach.
“We will see how we move from here but I must stress that this decision was necessitated by the poor results that we have been having and which everyone has seen.
“Our agreement with the coaches is that we look at the results and not faces because it is our ambition to win,’’ Sengeredo said.
The Shooting Stars boss, however, insisted that Mutasa and Pasuwa, who quit Highway in a huff two weeks ago, would not be put under immense pressure to immediately produce results.
“It is now up to the new technical team to work with this team and we will, as management, give them all the support that they need.
“The new coaches are not being given any specific targets, they have been given contracts right away and we will not set any number of games for them to win because doing so will put them into panic mode.
“In fact Lloyd and Callisto are qualified coaches who know what is expected of them.
“Their appointment is also not by mistake but it is a decision that has been reached after wide consultation and due consideration and if we gave the outgoing coaches 13 games, why should be giving these coaches a few games?
“It means we will be changing coaches at every turn. We will rate the new coaches at the end of the season so there is no need to put them under any pressure,’’ Sengeredo said.
He said Mutasa’s appointment had also been made in time for the opening of the transfer window to afford the former Kiglon mentor a chance to bring in any additions he may need.
“We have also taken the view to change our coaching department in view of the fact that the mid-season transfer window is opening and have to reorganise because our current position on the log table is worrying.
“So Mutasa and Pasuwa will look at the players that we have, assess those they want, those they do not need and if there are any additions that they want to make to strengthen the squad, we try to assist them,’’ Sengeredo said.
Mutasa, whose first assignment is a tough task against CAPS United at Rufaro on Saturday, briefly addressed the players and called for unity in the dressing room. “I am very happy to join this institution and I think if we all work together we will succeed,’’ Mutasa said.- The Herald Sports.
