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Chiweshe is back in the country after a year’s flirtation with the Swaziland top-flight game where he was in charge of Manzini Wanderers and is now pondering on his next move with a return to Botswana or the local front his main targets.
The former Dynamos midfielder and coach could not win the Swazi championship in his maiden year and managed a modest seventh place finish with Manzini Wanderers before ending his romance with the popular club.
Despite having been in the mountain kingdom, Chiweshe has continued to closely follow proceedings back home as DeMbare still remain close to his heart.
Chiweshe, however, said he did not let his affection for Dynamos to blind the way he evaluated the domestic Premiership.
Just as Chiweshe returned home for a sabbatical last week, the Premiership reached half way stage with the coach having had a chance to watch the Battle of the Cities showdown between CAPS United and Highlanders at the National Sports Stadium last Saturday and DeMbare’s clash against How Mine at Rufaro the following the day.
Yesterday, Chiweshe took a bold step and put his money on Dynamos successfully defending their title and arguing that their past their worst moment.
“When you look at the way that Dynamos started the season this year, it is certainly not one of their best starts and all the other teams in the league had a great chance to create a huge gap at the top.
“But I am happy that after all those draws, Dynamos have covered the gap and they are now just one point behind the team at the top. After a slow start they have managed to fight their way back.
“The character they have shown in climbing up the ladder makes me believe that they can win the championship again and I think the results in the last few weeks have also been a turning point in the league race because Highlanders have lost some games and blew a chance to further their lead at the top.
“If they play the way they did in Harare, Highlanders could lose to CAPS United again in Bulawayo but I don’t see How Mine stopping Dynamos in Bulawayo.
“Dynamos are very difficult to dislodge from the top once they take the lead and normally in the second half of the season it’s about character and they have got the character’’ Chiweshe said.
Chiweshe seemed convinced that when the title race reaches its peak, it will narrow down to another big battle between Dynamos and Highlanders given the inconsistency shown by the rest of the Premiership.
Dark horses Harare City and second-placed Chicken Inn would need to play with greater conviction and more consistency to with stand the heat at the top.
While Chicken Inn came from behind to overcome Shabanie Mine 2-1 at Maglas at the weekend, it was the Sunshine Boys who blew a great chance to take over pole position when being hammered 4-1 by struggling Hwange at the Colliery.
Although he claimed that a number of clubs, including police outfit Royal Leopards, had shown interest in his services, Chiweshe ruled out an immediate return to Swaziland arguing that “coaching there does not enhance my career’’.
“When I compare my time at Dynamos and coaching in Swaziland, it is like coming from a sea and going into a dam.
“Yes the Manzini supporters and management are ambitious but personally I feel I need an environment where there is real competition and that helps you improve all the time as a coach.
“I had to build a new team at Manzini and I am happy we still managed to secure a top-eight finish but I should say they are a bit unprofessional in their game in that country and if you stay too long there as a coach, you can actually lag behind.
“The players are not committed and you really have to push them to work but there are some talented players in that country who are good enough to play in Zimbabwe or South Africa,’’ Chiweshe said.
While he had admiration for some of the Swaziland players, including his charges at Manzini, Chiweshe offered a different opinion on the administration at the club and was blatant in his attack on them.
“Administratively, they are far too behind from the modern football trends and yet they are resistant to change.
“In fact, they don’t have knowledge especially the management committee that I worked with at Manzini.
“Manzini Wanderers are very popular, well supported not just in the city but all over the country, and just like the Dynamos fans their supporters are hard to please but they were happy with the work I was doing there and are calling and sending text massages asking whether I am coming back.
“In Botswana, Gaborone United (which he first coached after leaving Dynamos) were professional and the only challenge I had was that of some executive members wanting to interfere with the coaches maybe because they had stayed for too long without winning the championship’’.
Chiweshe said he was also satisfied to note the progress that some of his protégés from the Dynamos juniors such as Partson Jaure, Leonard Fiyado, Leroy Murape and Brian Five have made.
Online Reporter