Chicken Inn begin pre-season preps

will resume their preparations for the year at Gifford High School today.

Mandla Mpofu, who replaced his former boss Adam Ndlovu who died last month in a car crash, will be in charge of the Gamecocks for the first time. In a brief chat on Sunday while watching the epic clash between Liverpool and Manchester United, Mpofu said he was looking forward to the challenge.

“It’s a challenge that I am looking forward to as we begin preparations on Tuesday,” said Mpofu.

In an interview yesterday afternoon, club secretary Tawengwa Hara said the team was ready to begin its preparations for the year. He said Chicken Inn would not be conducting trials any more as they have outgrown that status.

“While we cannot send away players that come to our training sessions, the coaches will assess them but the reality on the ground is that we have kept basically all the players we have had in the past,” said Hara.

He said no agreement had been reached with Dynamos over the release of find-of-the-season Sydney Linyama. He anchored for the club with the aplomb of a seasoned campaigner despite arriving from Zimbabwe Saints now in Division Two.

“We have not sealed any deal with Dynamos over the release of Linyama. He is still our player,” said the Chicken Inn secretary.

Dynamos have found themselves bad negotiators with other clubs over their payment plans which extend over four months.

In the same interview Hara said they would welcome Hardlife Mavundi who was at FC Platinum on a swap deal with Ntokozo Tshuma who has since been recalled by the Zvishavane side.

“FC Platinum cannot say they have offloaded Mavundi because he was on a swap deal lasting a year with Ntokozo. We expect Mavundi at training as Tshuma is no longer with us. We are intact and excited about the prospects of a new season which comes with high expectations. We have all the confidence in the players we have and our technical department,” said Hara.

Chicken Inn stunned soccer followers when they finished third on the log last season and also produced two players who were good enough for the Castle Lager Soccer Star of the Year finalists. These are Felix Chindungwe and Kudakwashe Mahachi.

Mahachi was voted Rookie of the Year.