Plumtree Chiefs begin pre-season preparations

Mzingaye Sibanda Sports Reporter
PREMIER Soccer League newcomers Plumtree Chiefs started their pre-season preparations with only one new face joining the Thulani Sibanda-coached outfit at Raylton Recreation Club in Bulawayo yesterday.
Midfielder Rainsom Pavari, who once played for now relegated Tripple B, was the only confirmed addition to the top flight new boys.
Black Mambas midfielder Nhlanhla Ncube trained with the Plumtree-based side but no deal has been sealed.

Sibanda is likely to retain most of his Zifa Division One championship winning squad.
“We have only signed Pavari, others are trying their luck and we are still assessing them to see if they are good to join us.
“I have faith in my boys.  They have done the job in the lower division and I believe they can do it again in the premiership,” said Sibanda.

“It will be unfair after what these boys have done to take us to the Promised Land only for us to ditch them. Everyone started somewhere to be experienced so it’s now time for these boys to prove themselves.”

However, it was the same scenario when Sibanda took Quelaton to the elite league and chose to have faith in the boys that did duty in Division One. The team was eventually relegated.

The young gaffer believes his side can cause major upsets just like what How Mine and Harare City did in their maiden seasons.
The Plumtree side will begin intensive camping in two weeks’ time, after they finalise their squad. Plumtree Chiefs secretary-general Dumaza Mantula Sibanda said their target was to keep the team afloat and survive relegation.

“We have decided to prioritise the team first and then will do other projects later because we have discovered that to maintain the team in the premier league is much expensive compared to Division One,” he said.

Plumtree Chiefs will shift their base from Plumtree to Bulawayo as there is no stadium that meets PSL standards in the border town but Mantula said they will do whatever they can to get back to Plumtree.

“It has been our dream to play in Plumtree, so the community should not feel neglected,” he said.