adminEddie Chikamhi Sports Reporter
Dynamos captain Murape Murape has tipped the Harare giants to continue with their supremacy on the domestic scene as the Harare giants gear up for fresh battles in defence of their Castle Lager Premiership crown this year.
DeMbare are set to open their account in the Premiership with a date against giant slayers How Mine away in Bulawayo when the season begins in two weeks’ time.
For the past three years, the Glamour Boys have been the top team although they have always found it tough when it comes to the Caf inter-club competitions as shown by their first round exit in the Champions League this year.
Murape told The Saturday Herald that they will be out in search of a fourth title in succession in 2014.
“I think we are ready for the new season. As defending champions we would want to win everything on offer and, of course, retaining the league championship and reclaiming the Mbada Cup and Top Eight.
“I think we have a very strong team and we are very confident with the team that we have this year.
“We are capable of winning most of our game only if we remain united and keep the spirit of togetherness within the team. If we keep on working hard I don’t see any team dislodging us and denying us the championship.
“Highlanders were talking too much before the Bob Super Cup final that they signed so many good players but we dominated them. We showed that we also signed good players.
“Other clubs can sign the players they want. FC Platinum have done that before but we are still here, we are still the champions and we are still the biggest team in the country.
“We are not worried much about the players that they sign. We are the team to beat, we are the big guns, we are the top team and we are the strongest team,” said Murape.
He said the bigger the challenge the better the Glamour Boys’ response.
“We just welcome the challenge when we see these other teams beefing up. For us to be champions we have to beat strong teams.
“As it is I think all the teams are a threat. You cannot take anything away from them because they are not preparing to lose or to be relegated.
“We all prepare to be champions so we respect every team in the league and we know the usual suspects will be there, the likes of CAPS United, Highlanders, Harare City, FC Platinum or even How Mine who have experienced players,” said Murape.
Dynamos won the championship on goal difference in the last three seasons and they raked up most of their points at Rufaro.
Dynamos will play their first seven games of the new season without their defensive kingpin Partson Jaure who was handed a lengthy suspension by the disciplinary committee last year.
Jaure will not be available for the matches against How Mine, ZPC Kariba, Bantu Rovers, Harare City, Chapungu, Buffaloes and Shabanie Mine.
“We are happy with the fixture as it is. We don’t care who we play first or who we play last. We are prepared to face any team head on so we are happy with the fixture.
“We only have three teams in Harare so there will be lots of travelling outside Harare but it gives our supporters in other parts of the country the chance to see us in action.
“So we are happy football is spreading all over the country and we just want to make sure that we are going to make our fans happy by winning most of these games.
“As long as we are in Zimbabwe we are happy. If you look when we won the 2012 season championship we were winning mostly outside Harare. We are comfortable playing anywhere in Zimbabwe.
“Maybe the only away record that we are worried about is in the Champions League but in terms of our league campaign we are comfortable playing anywhere.
“We don’t want the repeat of last year when the season was decided at the last day of the season.
“I think we are going all out from the word go and make sure that we can collect as much maximum points as we can so that by the end of the year it will be comfortable for us to win the league with three or four games remaining,” said Murape.
Online Reporter