The ManicaPost
Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
WITH only one week after resuming training so far, domestic top-flight football league club coaches have admitted that players fitness and technical aptitude was badly affected as most of them had lost hope of returning to the field of play owing to the lengthy Covid-19 induced layoff.
Premiership clubs were given the green light to resume training in preparation of the cluster competition which is expected to mark the return of domestic football action.
When the Covid-19 pandemic cases were reported in the country resulting into the first lockdown regulations, most clubs resorted to online physical training sessions, but with the passage of time fatigue and monotony crept in leading to most players and coaches deserting the individual online sessions.
Prohibitive costs of effectively monitoring individual player physical training sessions also militated against coaches’ efforts to give due guidance to players online.
Manica Diamonds’ gaffer, Johanisi “Dutch Mentor” Nhumwa, told Post Sport that they had to start with physical fitness.
“The fitness levels were way below par. It is now getting better with each passing day in training. One can see some elements of improvement as we progress in training, but it was evident from the onset that the players had somehow relaxed and were no longer adhering to individual training sessions.
“I think we are almost there in terms of fitness and when satisfied that is when we will start introducing some technical aspects of the game. The younger players are adapting well, while the older ones are having a bit of challenges in catching up.
“When we started training, some basic skills like ball control and accurate passing were evidently lacking, but as of now one can see some improvements. Hopefully by the time we start competitive matches they will be in good shape,” said Nhumwa.
Tenax FC assistant coach, Blessing Madombi, said: “Generally, we are happy with the way they (players) are responding to training. It is true that the Covid-19 layoff resulted in some players relaxing when it comes to adherence to physical training, but I am happy that the improvement is noticeable since we started.
“As Tenax, we were impressed that we did not have to start from scratch. Some of the players really showed that they were taking time to do physical training, but obviously it will not match the normal training that we have together.”
Chicken Inn FC mentor, Joey ‘Mafero Mafero’ Antipas, said: “I was quite impressed with the professionalism within our players, given their performance in training when we started. Yes, there were areas that were evidently lacking when it comes to endurance and strength. This actually shows the adverse effects of the lockdown and the layoff, but I really hope that when we eventually start competitive matches we are good to go.”
Ngezi Platinum FC gaffer, Rodwell ‘Doctor’ Dhlakama, said: “The layoff was very long and that means that we need a long time to prepare before we start competitive games.
“No doubt, it will take time for the players to get into the groove and it is difficult to say after five days of training that they are fit or not. There are a lot of technical aspects involved and that is exactly what we are going through at the moment.”
