Madinda remains optimistic

By Descent Dube

Highlanders’ head coach, Madinda Ndlovu, claims that his team is at par with city rivals Chicken Inn despite failing to win a match in six Castle Lager Premier Soccer League outings.

The two teams lock horns in a league match at Barbourfields Stadium tomorrow, with Chicken Inn beaming with confidence following their 2-0 win over Manica Diamonds in their previous game.

“I believe we have good players and I can safely say that we’re at par with Chicken Inn, as we’ve lost the same number of matches so far. We were established in 1926 and where was Chicken Inn? The truth is that we cannot base on history, but on the current position, which is them as our next opponent,” said Ndlovu.

He said the team is learning from its mistakes and they’ve been training to perfect their approach.

Bosso have had their worst start to a Premiership campaign in history, going six games without a win, drawing four times and losing twice. Their last match at Barbourfields Stadium ended in a 0-0 stalemate with Hwange, leaving the troubled Bulawayo giants still lingering in the relegation zone, third from the bottom.

“We are not basing on our opponents’ position or their last match; what we’re saying is that we respect them as a PSL team and we’re also a PSL team. We will continue working hard and the results will follow. It’s no secret that the team is playing great football and we remain optimistic of finding form and start recording good results,” said Ndlovu.

Asked about the availability of midfielder Denzel Khumalo, Ndlovu said he doesn’t focus on one player, as the “position was made clear on the player”.

“I don’t understand why you (the media) are interested in one player. We were winning matches without him last year when he was playing for Bosso 90 and I don’t see anything strange with him not playing now. I’m not going to focus on one player as team selection is done on merit,” Ndlovu said.

Khumalo is officially said to be sidelined by injury, although sources insist that the talented midfielder has been marginalised due to indiscipline.

His absence has forced the coaches to drop Prince Dube from the frontline into more of a midfield role to supply strikers Peter Nyirenda and Tinashe Makanda with balls, but he has proved ineffective in that role. The Chronicle