The ManicaPost
Nhumwa was thrown into the deep end soon after Masomere was fired and in his first assignment the former Masvingo United gaffer gruesomely oversaw the Manica Diamonds 1-0 home defeat the hands of CAPS United at Vengere Stadium.
Ray Bande Senior Reporter
MANICA Diamonds are now proving to be real gems after going for five consecutive matches without tasting defeat and their team manager Tich Zikai sees nothing stopping them from attaining their desired top eight finish.
The Gem Boys suddenly hit a purple patch in their debut Premiership season after Luke Masomere was fired and the subsequent appointment of caretaker coach Johannes Nhumwa has brought the respite their fans badly needed.
Manica Diamonds, who were supposed to entertain Herentals at Vengere Stadium on Sunday, will not be in action this weekend given the national team CHAN assignment in Harare.
“I think we are now getting the results that we wanted and it is good for the team as well as the fans who have always believed in our potential.
“With the experienced players that we have there is no doubt that we will achieve the goals that we set for ourselves. I do not see why we cannot be able to attain a top eight finish.
“All we need is to keep believing in ourselves and also guard against complacency. We just need to keep working hard and we can achieve all that we want to,” said Zikai.
In the six matches that Nhumwa has been appointed the Gem Boys coach on caretaker basis, the former Masvingo United gaffer stirred the Manica Diamonds ship with aplomb, securing an impressive 13 out of a possible 18 points.
Nhumwa was thrown into the deep end soon after Masomere was fired and in his first assignment the former Masvingo United gaffer gruesomely oversaw the Manica Diamonds 1-0 home defeat the hands of CAPS United at Vengere Stadium.
In the next match, Nhumwa collected maximum points away from home against Harare City in a 2-1 triumph in the capital.
Manica Diamonds went on to settle for a two all stalemate miles away from home in the Mashonaland central capital of Bindura up against lowly Mushowani Stars.
Nhumwa then guided Manica Diamonds to a morale boosting 4-3 triumph over Zimbabwe’s Caf Confederation Cup representatives Triangle FC at Vengere Stadium.
The impressive result against Triangle, which sealed a four match unbeaten run for the Gem Boys, endeared the Masvingo born coach to fans at Vengere Stadium who were left chanting ‘Nhumwa, Nhumwa uri nhumwa’, (Nhumwa, Nhumwa you are a messenger), after the referee blew the final whistle.
Meanwhile, Manica Diamonds have denied social media reports linking them to former ZPC Kariba coach Paul Chimalizeni.
“We are also getting it from social media. We never talked to Paul Chimalizeni not at any moment. In any case we are not hunting for a new coach at the moment. We just want to keep enjoying the fine run we have and concentrate on getting more points,” said club chairman Masimba Chihowa.
