Online Reporter
Veronica Gwaze
Zimpapers Sports Hub
CHICKEN Inn gaffer Tonderai Ndiraya may have watched in disappointment as his team fell to two back-to-back Castle Lager Premier League defeats, but the Reigning Coach of The Year has struck a defiant tone and backed his Gamecocks to bounce back.
Ndiraya’s men face his former club Dynamos at Barbourfields on Sunday, needing to avoid three-straight league defeats.
Chicken Inn have recently hit a poor patch, and Ndiraya is determined to stem the slide.
And given Ndiraya’s track record with Ngezi Platinum Stars, Dynamos, Simba Bhora and Scottland, expectations are understandably high for him to replicate his success with Chicken Inn.
After going on a modest recruitment drive during the off-season bringing in local and foreign talent to revitalise his side, expectations were that his team would be somewhere near the leading pack.
But nine games into the campaign the 2015 champions are ninth on the log with 12 points after three wins, an equal number of draws and as many losses.
Chicken Inn are 10 points behind leaders CAPS United.
But Ndiraya is not panicking about rebuilding a Gamecocks outfit that narrowly escaped relegation last season.
“After a difficult last season, it was reasonable for us to bring in new faces to bolster the squad,” Ndiraya said.
“However, it takes some time to get them together and learn how to play as a unit, so, yes we may be down now, but we are certainly not out.
“I acknowledge that we may be a bit behind, but I still believe that we can recover . . . once the team gets together, we can be competitive again and fight till the end.”
The Gamecocks are fresh from two successive defeats at the hands of city rivals Highlanders (3-1) and Bulawayo Chiefs (2-0) respectively.
Ndiraya feels his charges just need some psychological therapy for them to bounce back into form.
He said most of his players are new and may have not played before huge crowds, which could be affecting them mentally.
“Further, the foreigners are coming from different leagues where they played different philosophies,” he said.
“To bring them together and make sure they speak in one voice is a process, and I can see that signs of a great team are there.
“Despite the losses, the team has built some understanding, so our project is taking good shape.
“It is just when you lose games it is difficult to be yourself and play the way that you are supposed to; mentally you get affected, so we need to talk to the boys and help them recover from this.”
Three of the five goals that Chicken Inn conceded came from set pieces, a situation that Ndiraya believes attributed to psychological challenges.
“All those goals came from free-kick situations, so it tells you that the team is a bit solid, and conceding soft goals points to something different.
“We need to regroup and talk to the players more so that psychologically the players can be strong again and be able to move on from this.
“The upcoming games are not easy. We should bounce back urgently and be up to the task to make sure we defend the badge.
“There is a standard that is required in top-flight and title contention itself, we have to work towards that and ensure that we become competitive again.”
This week, the Gamecocks find themselves in a tricky fixture, hosting in-form Dynamos who are yet to taste defeat this season.
In fact, the last time that Dynamos lost a Premiership game was in the first half last season.
“It will not be easy, Dynamos are in-form, so we need to bring our A-game and ensure we put this bad spell behind us.
“Our eyes remain on the top prize, so we do not want to lag behind in points, we need to be in a close and competitive space all the time,’’ added Ndiraya.
Match-Day 10 Fixtures:
Tomorrow: Herentals College v Highlanders (Rufaro)
Saturday: Agama v FC Platinum (Wadzanayi), CAPS United v Bulawayo Chiefs (Rufaro), Hardrock v FC Hunters (Chawanda), ZPC Kariba v MWOS (Nyamhunga)
Sunday: Chicken Inn v Dynamos (Barbourfields), Scottland v Simba Bhora (Rufaro), Triangle United v TelOne (Gibbo)
