Chronicle Editor
Innocent Kurira, Sports Reporter
BULAWAYO City are racing against time to appoint a qualified coach to lead their technical team from the dugout against Dynamos in Sunday’s Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match at the National Sports Stadium.
City parted ways with head coach Philani “Beefy” Ncube on Monday morning and elevated Johannes Ngodzo and Mduduzi Mpofu as caretaker coaches, but the duo cannot sit on the bench in PSL matches because they do not have Caf A coaching badges as required by Fifa club licensing.
According to sources, City could hurriedly appoint either Philani Mabhena or Farai Tawachera, who are currently unattached.
Although appointing either of the two would be tantamount to recycling coaches, the two have the experience and pedigree to save the team from relegation, which City are staring at as they languish at the bottom of the league table with just six points from 13 games.
City marketing and public relations officer Lovemore Dube could not be drawn into revealing names of qualified coaches in the running for the hot seat.
“It’s a wide-open race. We will be advising the outcome for the search once all the processes are done. We will be getting recommendations from the executive and board and then an announcement will follow. The two interim coaches cannot sit on the bench, which means the announcement of the new coach is imminent,” said Dube.
City’s only league win of the season was a shock 1-0 scoreline against an equally struggling Highlanders in February.
After that win, City have gone on to lose six times and draw twice.
The 1-0 loss to Bulawayo Chiefs on Saturday sealed Ncube’s fate, as he threw in the towel in a post-match media briefing before his departure was formalised by the club on Monday morning. – @innocentskizoe
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