daniel chigunwe
Tadious Manyepo Sports Reporter
BLACK Rhinos have confirmed the appointment of Saul Chaminuka as their new head coach.
But his predecessor Stanford “Stix” Mutizwa will continue to sit on the bench for the time being, despite the legendary midfielder having been reassigned to the position of technical advisor. The army side have been searching for a leader after mutually agreeing with Mutizwa to relinquish his post following an indifferent start to the season.
After interviewing former Manica Diamonds gaffer Johanisi Nhumwa and Chaminuka, the military side settled for the latter, whose CV is apparently more impressive.
Mutizwa, however, will continue to sit on the Black Rhinos bench after Chaminuka made recommendations for the former Warriors to be retained in the system for continuity’s sake.
Chaminuka will not, for the meantime, be licensed to sit on the bench as he didn’t attend the requisite CAF refresher course that was meant to activate CAF A Licences early this year.
ZIFA technical director Wilson Mtekede has made it clear that no coach whose CAF A License has not been validated through the refresher course will be allowed to sit on the bench for any Premiership team.
Mutizwa attended that course and with Black Rhinos reassigning him, he will be the one on the bench, until Chaminuka attends the next CAF refresher course scheduled for the next couple of weeks.
Black Rhinos spokesperson Edward Mutukwa revealed yesterday that Chaminuka has since taken over as the new head coach while Mutizwa will be his technical advisor.
Christopher Mwanza has been roped in as Chaminuka’s assistant while former Harare City goalkeeper Maxwell Nyamupangedengu has been appointed as the goalkeepers’ coach with Temba Mahapa being the team manager.
Former central defence pairing of Brighton Chandisaita and Shadreck Jim have retained their posts as the team’s fitness trainers.
“Black Rhinos Football Club have made a decision to appoint Saul Chaminuka as their head coach with immediate effect.
“This restructuring has been necessitated by the team’s poor performance which has come as a cause for concern to the executive and all those associated with the team,” said Mutukwa.
“It was thus necessary to restructure and regain the confidence of our sponsors and fans. Our choice of Saul Chaminuka as the head coach was premised on his rich history and excellent curriculum vitae.
“He has vast experience with local and regional clubs, as well as the Zimbabwe national team. We remain convinced that he will be able to transform our team into a competitive outfit.
“Chaminuka recommended that we retain Mutizwa as the club’s technical advisor as he said we need continuity. We applauded and endorsed that move. So, Mutizwa is still around but in a different capacity”.
Chaminuka’s first assignment is a home match against Ngezi Platinum Stars at the National Sports Stadium on Wednesday next week.
Black Rhinos are sitting one place above basement side Cranborne Bullets with a paltry seven points to their name.
They have won just a single game in seven outings, drawing twice and losing four in one of their worst starts to a season. They have scored only twice while conceding nine times.
The single win came against sister club Cranborne Bullets who are currently anchoring the log table, with no win in seven league games.
Online Reporter