Dismissed coach fires back

Takalani Moyo
former coach of premier league whipping boys Border Strikers Saul Chaminukaa��sA� parting shot to his former employers is that they expected miracles from unpaid players.

He accused Border Strikers officials of being slave drivers.

a�?Players were being punished and having to play without signing-on fees. Soccer is employment. Tell me a worker who will perform without pay?a�?

a�?Some of my former players have families to look after,a�? Chaminuka said in an interview with B-Metro.

His narrative is similar to that of slaves in American plantations around the 18th century.

a�?You cannot keep flogging them (players) when they are not financially motivated.

a�?Border Strikers has long-standing financial problems that will have a bearing on their future,a�? said the nomadic gaffer.

Border Strikers on Monday fired Chaminuka after 10 games blaming him for poor results and regularly being absent from work.

Chaminuka was also accused of being a a�?loud moutha�? to the Press. That a�?loud moutha�? is now talking to B-Metro about what really went down.

a�?I cannot be silenced when I see my players are doing all they can but lack financial support. A coach can only go so far and it hurt me to see how they concentrated for no rewards,a�? he said.

He said he was not bitter but felt for his players who had the zeal to please thankless employers.

a�?My players were dedicated if you look at their loss margins,a�?A� said Chaminuka who this year arrived to take charge of premiership debutants Border Strikers from relegated Army side Buffaloes of Mutare.

The teama��s biggest losses were two and three nil away to giants Highlanders and FC Platinum respectively. Bosso were made to sweat for victory by a stubborn Border Strikers who made them wait until after the breather for a goal.

But still that is not enough for the team with a paltry three points from 10 games and if it continues at the current rate, nothing can save the team from relegation.

a�?But can you say we were not doing well if we could hold our own against such big guys like Highlanders,a�? said Chaminuka.

He said he had made a decision to leave the team before the game against Highlanders and made that public.

Dismissing Chaminuka, Border Strikers officials said he blamed everyone but himself.

The Beitbridge-based team said in the interim Never Malunga who guided the team to the premiership would take over as caretaker coach.

Some supporters of the team accused Malunga, who was Chaminukaa��s assistant, of sabotaging the coach and having a faction of players on his side.

a�?Malunga seemed as if he was not interested in working under Chaminuka and influenced some of the executives and players,a�? said a supporter who asked for anonymity.

He singled out a member of the executive who had almost gone on a public mission to discredit Chaminuka.

Asked about his future plans Chaminuka said he would go home to rest and concentrate on his job as assistant national team coach.

The 2014 Coach of the Year with ZPC Kariba is assistant to Kallisto Pasuwa.

The Beitbridge rumour mill was this week alive with talk that former Zimbabwe player John Phiri was headed for the border town to pick up from where Chaminuka left.

a�?I am not aware of that. All I can say is that Malunga will be caretaker coach,a�? said Border Strikers secretary Rodlet Chigwinya.