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Petros Kausiyo and Grace Chingoma
CAPS United coach Lloyd Chitembwe believes a new sense of self-belief and a change of approach to business have been the hallmark of his team’s strong finish in the Castle Lager Premiership championship race.
Makepekepe finally found their rhythm in the last month of the season and have shown glimpses of the old Green Machine that instilled fear in their opponents.
That fine run in the last month won CAPS United two Premiership accolades yesterday with bustling striker Dominic Chungwa and Chitembwe winning the Player of the Month and the Coach of the Month for November respectively.
The pair was confirmed winners after a panel of sports journalists that has been choosing the monthly winners, together with the PSL coaches and club captains, felt they had done enough in the final month of the season to win the awards.
From a season that seemed doomed at the height of internal strife that led to the club failing to fulfil their away fixture against How Mine in Bulawayo, CAPS United fought their way back to end the season in fifth place and three points shy of the top four cut that had new champions Chicken Inn at the top, deposed kings Dynamos, FC Platinum and Triangle.
Chitembwe, who joined CAPS after they had played 22 out of their 30 league games, revealed that he was proud to see CAPS United revive their old flame and described it as work in progress.
Apart from guiding them to a fifth place finish, Chitembwe has also led CAPS United to the Easycall Cup semi-finals where they will face Chicken Inn at Barbourfields on Saturday. The former CAPS United hardman attributed that fine run to hard work and unity in the CAPS United family.
“On a personal note I am happy but I think overall it is all about the team. It is a great sign of the amount of ground we have covered. Obviously as a team we are trying to achieve as much as possibly we can achieve. We are happy with this award, we will take it with pride and with honour but like I said before it is all about the team and I am happy with the players and the supporting staff,” said Chitembwe.
Chitembwe says his charges have quickly adapted to his style and what he has been teaching them since his arrival in September.
“The coaches are unique, unique in the sense that they are different. Football is coached the same way but the difference is in the application.
“Education is about sharing knowledge, getting to learn and sharing the knowledge but when it comes to football education it has a lot to do with developing good habits and making sure you create the correct attitude.
“And I am sure it is in that aspect that we have managed to do well. I am happy we have managed to have those as the cornerstones of the way we want to try and do things at CAPS United and I am happy the boys have responded well to that and I give them credit.”
However, the former Warriors midfielder said it is still work in progress and his side who are looking to mount a stronger challenge in 2016 cannot afford to relax at the moment.
“It is a continuous learning process. We are not content as yet and the moment you do that, you are bound to fail. We want to keep working very hard so that we achieve things we have set for ourselves, the things we want to achieve.”
Chitembwe said the Easycall Cup provided his charges with a chance to end the season with silverware but warned that it would not be an easy road.
“It would be a very special moment for the club, very special moment for some of my players but all the same it would be a very difficult assignment playing Chicken Inn who have just been crowned champions. Obviously it is not going to be a walk in the park but I certainly hope it would be a very good game of football for those who will come to watch the game,” said Chitembwe.
Chungwa also made a late charge for the Golden Boot award scoring six goals in CAPS United’s last three matches to take his tally to 10.
He was, however, four goals shy of the Premiership’s top scorer – Knox Mutizwa of Highlanders – and ended up being the fourth best marksman in the league. Maybe if Chitembwe had arrived a little earlier and helped revive Chungwa’s confidence, it could have been a different story for the former Eagles man who spent an unhappy first half the season at bitter rivals Dynamos before returning to the green half of the capital in July.
There is no doubting, however, that a combination a management shake-up that followed the coming onboard of new shareholders and the arrival of Chitembwe back to a club whose tradition he knows more than any of the coaches currently in the league, sparked the CAPS United revival.
Chitembwe arrived at CAPS United at the start of September, having been lured back to the Green Machine dugout by the club’s new leadership led by new president and majority shareholder Farai Jere and his partners who include Nhamo Tutisani and the board of directors chaired by lawyer Lewis Uriri.
The former Zimbabwe and CAPS United midfielder, a strict disciplinarian, made no secret of his intentions in his maiden address to his 2015 class of players, challenging them to transform themselves into Warriors, good and strong enough to play for the country’s senior and junior national teams, if the Green Machine are to trace their footsteps back to the top.
In his playing days Chitembwe won three league titles and became CAPS United’s most decorated player in history.
Now as coach of the Green Machine, Chitembwe told his troops that they needed to aim higher and challenge for national team spots.
Yesterday they were also rewarded by providing centre back Stephen Makatuka to the cast of the 11 Soccer Stars of the Year.
Online Reporter