ZPC Kariba head coach, Sunday Chidzambwa, has threatened to quit his job if players do not change their attitude at the power utility run football club after extending their winless run to three matches following a 1-0 defeat to CAPS United away at the National Sports Stadium in Harare on Sunday.
The premier league newcomers – who have registered two wins in 12 games – are now on 29 points, 11 points behind log leaders Ngezi Platinum Stars. They have dropped to position eight on the premier league table having registered eight wins, five draws and seven defeats from 20 games.
Addressing journalists in an explosive press conference in the wake of their defeat, the veteran gaffer said his team failed to fight for the win hence the negative result. He also praised CAPS United for exhibiting winning qualities in their performance.
“My team [only] started fighting when we were one goal down, [and] you don’t win in those kinds of [situations]. So I think we have to go back and look ourselves in the mirror, tell ourselves the truth, whether we want to play or not. If players don’t want to play football, they might as well forget about winning anything. And at the same time, they will put pressure on the coach, and if players are not prepared to fight for a game of football, I’m prepared to kiss it goodbye,” Chidzambwa said.
ZPC Kariba fell courtesy of a 62nd minute Dominic Chungwa volley from just outside the area which hit the top right corner of the net as CAPS United registered their first premier league win in six matches.
“. . . I think in today’s game, we have ourselves to blame, because [in the] first half we didn’t play any football at all. We never fought and as a result we never created any meaningful chances.
“We only started to come into the game when CAPS [United] had scored. Congratulations to CAPS United for the way they fought for the three points, they fought from the word go until the final whistle. That’s how a team wins points,” he said.
“I’m saying if players are not prepared to fight, I think I would rather home and stay at home rather than getting pressure everyday with players who don’t want to fight for a game.
“I think I told you already, our problem is that we are not fighting, that’s our main problem. If you don’t fight you don’t win games. So I’m going to talk to the players, if they don’t want to fight, I might as well resign, that’s what I’m saying.
“We have very good players, the only thing we have to do is to fight for three points. There’s nothing else we can do. If players are not prepared to fight for a game, they won’t win anything. That is exactly what is happening to us.
“So I’m saying, I’m not answering anything again, I said, my players are not prepared to fight, I’m going to talk to them, if they are not prepared to fight for me, then I’ll go away, as simple as that.
“Everybody in Kariba is playing football, I think we had some new youngsters in there, you saw them; we didn’t fight. You don’t win games when you don’t fight. You must put maximum effort.
“I get the blame, when we lose games, I get fired. I’m going to talk to them, if they are not prepared to fight, then I’ll go away. Maybe they want someone who they can fight for. I mean, look at CAPS [United], you can count on maybe two or three players, but everybody was fighting, everybody wanted to win. They were chasing for any ball, be it offensive or defensive. They were chasing for everything.
“So, I think that’s my statement, thank you very much.”
