admingames.
Chunga is now expected to rejoin the team he helped form and later led to the championship title, Gunners.
Interestingly, the two teams clash this Saturday at Morris Depot and it’s highly likely that by then Chunga would have taken control of their dressing room.
Chunga has had one of his worst spells as coach, failing to steer Mambas from the drop zone and the police outfit turned to their long serving mentor John “Toto” Ncube to begin their survival battle.
Ncube had taken charge of their opening four games when Chunga arrived first as a technical advisor before taking over as head coach.
This will be the second time that Mambas would have demoted Ncube and then hand him back the reins.
In 2011 Warumwa Warumwa demoted Ncube after hiring Madinda Ndlovu but just like Chunga the former Highlanders coach did not meet with much success.
This prompted the Mambas management to bring former Blackpool midfielder Ncube back at the helm of the technical bench.
Before parting ways with Mambas yesterday Chunga had only managed a point from a 1-1 draw with Monomotapa.
The poor run prompted a crisis meeting at the club yesterday after which the two parties reportedly agreed to part ways.
Sources privy to the meeting indicated that Chunga has insisted he wanted to hire his own backroom staff while the club’s chiefs maintained he had to work with the crew he found in place.
“Bambo (Chunga) felt he was being sabotaged by the people around him, the same people who were demoted when he was ushered into the hot seat, so he wanted to bring his own assistants, and the people he can trust.
“But the executive refused that and insisted that he had to work with the people already on board so he felt it is better to quit,” said the source.
There were also claims that Chunga asked to be released from his contract as he felt “he has done everything but could not get the results and felt it was time to give someone a chance as there are still 60 points to play for and survive relegation”.
Neither Chunga nor Mambas were keen on publicly discussing the latest developments.
Mambas secretary Antony Mangezi claimed that meeting was not about the fate of the coach.
“It was just a meeting to psyche up the players and the technical team in view of the defeats that the team has been experiencing so that we can win at weekend. We still have the same relationship with our coaches and no one has left the club,” said Mangezi.
Ncube could also not be drawn into commenting on his elevation but instead chose to speak about their upcoming assignments.
“Our position is not good and it is high time we start picking points. We are preparing for the weekend’s match against Gunners and every game we are playing we would be looking at having results but on the pitch they are not coming.
“We cannot lose hope now and the games we have played are now in the past and we are focusing on the coming matches,” said Ncube.
The coach said they have not been defending well and have seen them conceding some soft goals.
“We are not defending and conceding silly goals and the same time we have not been converting chances. It is not the strikers who should score but even the linkman should score and help the team.
If every one in the team, management and the players focus on one direction we will pull through,” said Ncube.
Chunga, who won his first league title with Gunners in 2007, and was in charge of the club during pre season before leaving in a huff is now believed to be heading back to Gunners where a soccer enthusiast and a businessman is understood to have pledged to pay for the coach’s upkeep.
Currently, Chando Kupisa are being coached by former player Thanks Tengwe after George Madira joined Harare City as an assistant to Bigboy Mawiwi.
Fixtures
Saturday: Black Mambas v Gunners (Morris Depot), Monomotapa v FC Platinum (Gwanzura).
Sunday: Highlanders v Harare City (Barbourfields), Hardbody v Blue Rangers (Ascot), Buffaloes v Quelaton (Sakubva), Shabanie Mine v Chicken Inn (Maglas), Hwange v Motor Action (Colliery).
Postponed: Dynamos v CAPS United
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