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Veronica Gwaze
Sports Reporter
BULAWAYO Chiefs’ notable ‘transformation’ in their latest Premier Soccer League outings is evidence of the team’s tactical flexibility, coach Lizwe Sweswe has said.
This comes after the ‘Ninjas’ bagged maximum points in their last four outings, to atone for their slow take off this season.
As a result, they rose to fifth position on the table with 15 points after nine games, two points behind log leaders Ngezi Platinum Stars. This is despite the fact that they, over the years, have been regular fighters of relegation.
The Bulawayo-based side had a slow start this season which had them sitting on position 16 with only two points after four games.
And the Ninjas’ current fine form has the nation spellbound while avid football lovers marvel at the transformation of the team into a powerful force worth following.
“I believe in humbleness and that is what I teach my boys, we are in a race and a lot still needs to be done so we need to remain modest,” said Coach Sweswe. The Sweswe coached side will be facing Simba Bhora F.C on Monday at National Sports Stadium where they seek to maintain their winning form.
Consistency in their last four outings, said the gaffer came as a huge confidence booster for the team.
Having gone for their opening five games without a win, the team had to focus on their mental strength to bounce to winning ways
“It’s all in the mind, I always talk of mental strength and I am glad the boys have developed rapidly in that area,” he said.
“We now give attention to such issues as the work/rest ratio, recovery times, laws of conditioning and the like.”
Methods of training, he added, had to change, placing more emphasis on the player’s mind. He said, in the past, the team lacked self-belief and as a result lost most of their games.
“We worked on that, we removed the mental blocks and that is why we were able to beat a giant like Dynamos,” said Sweswe.
“We really needed that cutting edge for confidence, the transformation was a process that we needed to trust and to make the boys understand that they had the power to make things happen.”
However, he said more still needs to be done if they are to maintain their current form.
The gaffer is alive to the pressure that comes with continuing with a winning streak.
He called for his charges to invest more in their preparations.
“Mental strength is very important; we know that opponents are currently plotting against us because of this purple patch which means we have to be careful how we approach each fixture,” said the gaffer.
“They will study our play and even share notes, however, we never run out of tactics so all we will be doing will be pretty much about mind games and tactical flexibility.”
Against struggling Simba Bhora, Coach Sweswe said his boys need to be positive in their approach to the game.
The Tonderai Ndiraya mentored side currently sits on position 12 on the log standings with nine points in nine games.
This has left Ndiraya’s coaching capabilities under scrutiny at the Shamva based side.
However, for the series of questionable performances, Ndiraya always defended his boys saying they were still learning and that patience is needed before they can start to click as a team.
“The fact that they are struggling should not make us complacent,” said Sweswe.
“We need to put up a solid performance, preparation is key so we are leaving no stone unturned as we gun for maximum points again. “Simba are no push-over, they have experienced players who are capable of surprising anyone so we need not take them lightly.”
Online Reporter