Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
MANICA Diamonds chairman, Masimba Chihowa, and the team’s coach, Jairos Tapera, are singing from the same hymn book on their chances of clinching the coveted topflight league title this season.
The two genuinely believe that the league title is still within their reach despite the recent string of poor results.
The Gem Boys ended the season second on the log standings last season, and could have easily clinched the title had they avoided the needless dropping of points along the way.
This season, Manica Diamonds, find themselves almost in a similar situation in pursuit of the league title.
There is genuine belief within its corridors that the championship is still within striking distance for the Mutare-based topflight league side.
While Manica Diamonds have gone through a rough patch in recent matches, enduring a barren spell in which goals have been elusive, the team remains 11 points adrift current log leaders, Simba Bhora.
Thus, Chihowa, believes that they still have everything to play for, and the title is still within their reach.
The Chancellor Junior School head dismissed rumours that the club executive had given their coach, Tapera an ultimatum to win a certain number of matches for a given period.
“We have not gone that far as giving anyone an ultimatum. Of course, we are making an analysis on the performance of the team, and we are monitoring the situation to see we can do to address the poor showing.
“I think we still have 30 points to play for from the 10 matches that are remaining, and we cannot rule ourselves out of the championship race, simply because we have gone through a bad spell. It is normal in football, but we only need to ensure that we bounce back to our winning ways in time,” said Chihowa.
Coach, Tapera, admits that there is pressure to produce results, but reckons that it has always been part of the game.
“Football has its own pressures regardless of the team you play against. We played exceptionally well against CAPS United, but we eventually lost. We are preparing well for the next assignment against Arenel Movers, and we have in our mind the sense of getting the best result at the end of the match,” he said.
Tapera said they are still entertaining hopes of clinching the 2024 Castle Lager Premiership title.
“We are still in contention for the championship, and we need to start winning our matches. Let us see how it goes this weekend. I think we are still very much into it, and we still have a lot to play for in the remaining matches,” he said.
