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Veronica Gwaze
Sports Reporter
AFTER failing to live up to his dream start in their maiden Castle Lager Premier Soccer League season, Chegutu Pirates head coach Emmanuel Day Gutu seeks to go on a shopping spree when the mid-season transfer window opens.
Chegutu Pirates are currently 15th with a mere 11 points from 10 matches after winning three, drawing two, and losing five.
Last week they beat TelOne 2-0 at Bata in Gweru for their best result so far.
The victory appeased the Chegutu Pirates community, which was now losing patience with Gutu and his assistant, Godfrey Tamirepi.
Gutu, who understands the challenges deeply nestled in his camp, is an unhappy man.
“Every coach wants success and I am no exception so that being the case, I am not happy with where we are currently seated on the log standings,” said the coach.
“This is not how I pictured our maiden season, we had a slow start to it and lost some games that we could have won or at least scratched draws.”
The Chegutu-based side has been rocked by financial challenges for a long time, having to carry a cash box to their games to receive monetary handouts from their fans.
Upon promotion to topflight, they only managed to rope in veterans Arnold Mkhuli from GreenFuel and Tinotenda Chiunye from Botswana Premier League, Tafic to add experience to their team while sticking to the players, who did duty in the Zifa Northern Region Division One league.
Despite having no guarantee of the availability of a chequebook yet, Gutu hopes to do business to bolster his squad.
“We need to strengthen the team especially upfront where we have come short. I feel that we urgently need to bring in an attacking creative midfielder who can do the magic for us.
“To ensure that we are a more competitive side in the second half of the season, we will also need one or two defensive midfielders and two defenders to strike a balance,” he said.
This week, Gutu will be leading his team to Sakubva where they will be hosted by fellow PSL new boys Bikita Minerals.
Bikita who are yet to find a substantive coach following the departure of Saul Chaminuka who has since moved to GreenFuel sit on position nine on the log table with 13 points. “Last week’s win lifted our spirits as it slightly improved our position on the log and brought some renewed be-lief going forward,” said Gutu.
“Our preparations are going on well with our full squad available for selection so we are braced for Bikita. “The game is self-motivating for the boys, after that win everyone is eager to make it two victories on the bounce.
“It is often difficult to come back after a dry spell and the boys are working very hard because in football there are no short-cuts so you need to learn to pick yourself up and get organised.
“We have been doing that and it’s an ongoing fight, we cannot talk about relegation at this point but we are not taking it for granted so we need to continue picking up maximum points.”
Online Reporter