The ManicaPost
Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
BLACK Rhinos are proving to be the proverbial black cat for Manica Diamonds technical department after Sunday’s goalless stalemate against the Harare soldiers earned Gem Boys head coach, Johanisi Nhumwa a daunting two-match ultimatum.
Even though PSL action was suspended following the unruly conduct of Highlanders and Dynamos supporters at Barbourfields Stadium in Bulawayo last Sunday, Post Sport can exclusively reveal that the Manica Diamonds FC executive this week wrote to Nhumwa informing him of their decision to have the team collect six points in the next two assignments when the league eventually resumes or else he faces the chop.
Rewind two years ago, former coach, Luke ‘Vahombe’ Masomere was shown the exit after a poor streak of results and Black Rhinos put the final nail on his coffin after a two-nil Gem Boys defeat at the hands of Chauya Chipembere in Harare.
The man who took over after Masomere’s exit, Nhumwa, just after settling for a drab goalless stalemate at home against Black Rhinos, is as good as a dead man walking after being put on a two-match ultimatum.
Put simply, Nhumwa has to salvage all the six possible maximum points from the next two tricky encounters against Ngezi Platinum away in Mhondoro and against Tenax C.S FC at Sakubva Stadium after which the club leadership will review its position.
Manica Diamonds chairman, Masimba Chihowa, could neither confirm, nor deny the latest developments within the club.
“As a club, we are deeply worried about the sudden dip in performance and a streak of poor results. We cannot really wash our dirty linen in public, but I can assure all our key stakeholders, our fans mainly, that we are seeking remedy to the issue,” said Chihowa.
However, sources close to the goings-on in the Gem Boys camp confided in this newspaper that failure to get maximum points in the next two league encounters against Ngezi Platinum and Tenax FC will have disastrous effects on Nhumwa’s term as the head coach.
The reliable sources told Post Sport that the sponsors feel they have done everything to provide a conducive working environment for the coaches to deliver results.
When action resumes in the top-flight league, just like a condemned man walking from his prison cell to a place of execution, Nhumwa will surely navigate his way in the next two rounds of league matches with an axe over his head and knowing full well that the end to his reign as Manica Diamonds FC head coach is nigh.
It is reasonable to argue that football being football, Nhumwa can turn the tables against all odds and regain his winning formula to meet the club executive’s unnerving demand.
But when English Premiership coach, Mikel Arteta conceded that his team is now Europa League-bound after losing to Newcastle on Monday night, it is because he understands the reality on the ground that relegated Norwich can hardly be expected to beat Tottenham Hotspurs and the Gunners outplay Everton at home on the final day of the season.
Getting maximum points against Ngezi Platinum away from home and returning to bag the same against Tenax C.S FC in a tricky local derby, in all fairness, appears farfetched.
The indefinite break announced by the PSL early this week might be a blessing in disguise for Nhumwa as he will have more time to take a few steps back, strategise and fight for his job.
But judging by his team’s current performance on the field of play, wherein they desperately struggle to thread five consecutive passes going forward let alone defend with resolute, the reality on the ground suggests otherwise.
In recent matches, Manica Diamonds have been a pale shadow of the promising project they were in the early stages of the 2021/2022 Castle Lager Premiership season.
The sudden dip in performance and a streak of poor results comes after the Manicaland diamond miners invested a lot in human resources, having been able to lure a number of players that can walk into any dressing room in the Premiership and command a regular place in the starting line-up.
