Mablanyo stays grounded

By Godknows Matarutse

Dynamos coach Lloyd “Mablanyo” Chigowe wore familiar smile on his face after being asked if his newly-assembled side has what it takes to fight for honours ahead of the 2019 Castle Lager Premiership season which commences on March 30.

DeMbare’s head coach has his feet firmly on the ground but he is more than happy for others to allow their imagination to run wild on the back of a superb performance against bitter rivals CAPS United in a pre-season invitational Charity Shield Cup on Sunday.

The largely unheralded Glamour Boys gave their supporters every reason to believe after Edward Sadomba and Congolese attacker Ngandu Mangala settled the match with well taken two first half goals at the National Sports Stadium.

“I think the foundation is there. I think we should not get carried away there is a lot of work to be done, there is a lot of improvement still to be expected but, of course, it gives us hope that something can come out of this project,” Chigowe remarked.

Having secured a $5 million sponsorship for the next five years it appears heady days are back at the Glamour Boys at least for now.

The decision to appoint Chigowe appeared, on the face of it, to be a gambler at first. For all his experience in football, very few envisaged the former Young Warriors coach assemble a competitive side having lost the bulk of players who did duty last season.

However, the 54-year-old gaffer has made the transition with the minimum of fuss, laying solid foundations in the shortest space of time and assembling what appears to be a decent side at least judging by Sunday’s match against CAPS United.

And while it’s still early days yet, the supporters have warmed up to him and he has quickly earned the respect of the players, who like his humility and are enjoying his training regime. And, while satisfied with the progress he has made, Chigowe knows there is room for improvement.

“The resilience shown by the boys was amazing, the Maghreb Spirit, the spirit of wanting to die for the blue side of the capital,” he said.

“Coaching is like a syllabus and we haven’t even got to the halfway stage of the syllabus there is still a lot to be done in terms of correcting tactical awareness, technical combinations and formations on the field of play.

“But otherwise for a team that is rebuilding, I was satisfied with the progress made so far.

“I think winning this is a morale booster to these youngsters. It also gives confidence to the multitudes of Dynamos fans that their team is back … they can now bring their families to the stadium knowing that they will not have heartaches when they go home.”

Chigowe appears to place greater emphasis on ball work and was evident on Sunday as such youngsters like Jarison Selemani, Ngandu, Tawanda Chisi and Munyaradzi Mawadza among others impressed with the ball on Sunday.

Chigowe admitted that the Green Machine gave his side a good test but does not want to read much into the result.

“CAPS are the real deal in terms of opposition but of course, we must not read too much into this result. The league games are still to be played and they will be itching to get one over us, so we must prepare thoroughly and not go to sleep thinking that the job is done,” said Chigowe.

“This is only a pre-season game; it’s like a friendly game.”

Chigowe will be hoping for a positive start to the season against newly-promoted Mushowani Stars away. DailyNews