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CAPS United may have lost some of their best players from last season ahead of the 2025 term, but coach Lloyd Chitembwe feels the club is in a good space and is optimistic for the future.
The Green Machine have quite often literally been the litter bin for other teams’ rejects for almost every season post the Covid-19 pandemic era and even before.
And seeing the pair of defender Godknows Murwira and midfielder Kingsley Mureremba, the two players Makepekepe contributed to the Soccer Stars calendar last season, switching to free-spending newcomers Scottland, would naturally have triggered some panic across the Premiership giants.
But Chitembwe contends that everything is under control.
Murwira decided not to renew his stay at Makepekepe after the expiry of his contract last month, while Mureremba’s move was a business decision made by the Green Machine after the midfielder turned on the style inside the first of his two-year deal with the team.
Chitembwe said CAPS United are having a stable off-season in which they have been able to compete effectively on the transfer market, landing some of the best players on land.
“I think, in a very long time, we haven’t had a decent off-season like the one we are having at the moment.
“Previously, it used to be an off-season of issues and disgruntlements, but it’s not the case this time around, obviously due to the stability prevailing at the team,” said Chitembwe.
“So, we are looking at the upcoming season with so much optimism that we can do much better than we have done in the past three seasons. I think, at the moment, we are in a very good space.”
Besides Murwira and Mureremba, CAPS United will be without some key players they had from last season, including Lot Chiwunga and Ralph Kawondera, along with Bruce Kangwa.
Goalkeepers Tonderai Mateyaunga and Ashley Reyners have also left.
But all these players were not part of the club’s plans for 2025, and that effectively means the only player that CAPS United have technically lost is Mureremba, with a financial justification anyway.
“I am a football coach, and I do appreciate every player that I have worked with. But as far as I know, we have lost only two players, Godknows Murwira and Kingsley Mureremba.
“The latter, I think it was a business decision the club had to make, and for Murwira it was because his contract had run out.
“So we had to lose him. But for the others, I am sure they left not because they wanted to leave. Certain decisions had been taken, so it was rather by default, not by design.
“It was a decision that was purely made by the board,” added Chitembwe.
The veteran gaffer who led CAPS United to the 2016 championship said the Green Machine are expected to complete the signing of three big-name players today.
CAPS United’s recruits will join industrious midfielder Tanaka Shandirwa and striker Nyasha Chintuli, who is emerging from an outstanding season in Eswatini.
“There is Tanaka (Shandirwa) coming in and also Chintuli (Nyasha). There is also Harmony Nare, the goalkeeper, and at the same time, by tomorrow (today), we would have finished the signing of three players, very important players by our standards in this country.”
While Makepekepe are expected to add a few new players, they could pick from those currently undergoing trials.
Some seasoned players were also at their training ground when they kick-started their pre-season preparations yesterday. These include left-back Kelvin Mangiza, who has spent the rest of his short stint in his professional career doing well at FC Platinum, as well as Brighton Manhire, who was also with FC Platinum, which he joined from Highlanders last year.
Online Reporter