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Tadious Manyepo
DYNAMOS coach Lloyd “MaBlanyo” Chigowe has a young heart.
The celebrated talent groomer leads a thin and limping Glamour Boys side into the rescheduled league battle against Chicken Inn at Rufaro this afternoon.
And with a number of his regulars either grounded by injuries, suspensions or on international duty, Chigowe will deploy a battalion of young soldiers into the trenches.
The lanky gaffer is a firm believer in upcoming talent and he is likey to throw some greenhorns in the game against Chicken Inn.
It is a game that he wants to win at all costs, and this is largely to recover from the disappointing Harare Derby defeat against CAPS United last week.
He also wants his charges to give themselves a good chance of finish in the top-four.
The Glamour Boys are already out of the running for the title, which is Simba Bhora’s to lose, but they can finish strong if they can manage good results in their last seven games.
But they will have to do that without a number of players, including Emmanuel Jalai and goalkeeper Martin Mapisa (on national duty), Sadney Urikhob, Alexander Mandinyenya, Eli Ilunga and Keith Madera (injury), as well as Emmanuel Paga (suspension).
The missing players are enough to make Dynamos look more like a broken-down side given these are all regulars.
Chigowe says the team is not completely shaken, with some youngsters set to be given rare starts.
“We are not so much broken down as we do have seasoned campaigners in the side and our juniors will now also take responsibility,” he said.
“You saw the other time we introduced Vusa (Ngwenya) and Elton (Chikona) is already established in the team.
“We are looking up to Mbedzi (Marvel) and Ziso (Muzarafiti) to also come in and play a role. We have got Francis Jerimani as well. These boys will play a role, definitely.
“I will not be afraid to play youngsters because that is what I enjoy most. This is what I like: to ensure that we have got a conveyor belt of talent. When I leave the training ground, I watch Dynamos Division 2 side.”
Chigowe said he hoped to promote more young players to the senior team.
“I wish it was the old system where we were allowed to directly take youngsters from the juniors to the senior team; it would have made life easier for us,” he said.
“Unfortunately, the window is closed now. We will certainly fill them in and some of them will start training with the team next week (this week). We are broken, but not completely shaken, that’s for sure.”
Chigowe said it is in the final third that the team needs to find solutions as they still have depth at the back.
“It’s unfortunate we cannot deny Jalai (Emmanuel) and Mapisa (Martin) their international caps,” he said. “We have three goalkeepers and this is the chance for the other two to step in and show what they can do.
“In defence, we will miss Jalai and Fred Alick, but we still have selection headaches because we have so many players in that department.
“It is upfront where we are jolted. We don’t have Emmanuel Paga, Sadney Urikhob, Eli Ilunga and Alexander Mandinyenya.
“That means we are now thin in terms of the spearhead of the team. The wide areas, we have always improvised and I think we are good to go.”
Dynamos will shift their focus to their Chibuku Super Cup quarter-final tie against Yadah on Wednesday after the Chicken Inn match this afternoon.
“What we have to do is manage recovery and regeneration,” Chigowe said. “We have got three games in seven days starting on Sunday (today), then Yadah in the midweek and Arenel away in Bulawayo.
“Travelling on its own is a fatigue-enhancing process, which again has to be managed. We are not going to overload these boys.
“They have a full day rest on Saturday (yesterday) and then regeneration and recovery on Monday (tomorrow).
“We have to put a lot into the recovery process, otherwise without that we will run ourselves flat.
“We just have to work on combinations, not much physical training. The boys are looking fresh and, hopefully, that freshness will take us through.
“We are already in the final third of the season. This is the tactical and technical stage of the season. If there is any physical conditioning, then it means that everything is very wrong because these boys have played week in, week out.”
Online Reporter