adminBruce Chikuni
SIMBA Bhora coach Tonderai Ndiraya has been spared the axe by the club leadership.
He has been given him until the mid-season break to complete a turnaround.
Ndiraya was under pressure after a 0-1 loss to Cranborne Bullets on Friday.
The lifeless manner of that loss intensified the scrutiny on Ndiraya’s capacity to lead the miners.
It marked their fourth loss in eight fixtures.
Some disgruntled fans showed their frustration by requesting Ndiraya to hand over the team’s car keys.
But, the club hierarchy appears to have thrown their support behind the former Dynamos coach.
A source told H-Metro they will review the set-up during mid-season.
“Our fans are used to winning and we understand their frustration but they also need give our coach time to connect the loose ends.
“We have not given him any ultimatum because we have trust in what he can do, what is important at this moment is to rally behind the team.
“In the event that we don’t see change, we will make a decision during the mid-season break because we wouldn’t want to count losses over a rushed decision and the coach needs time,” said the official.
When the season started, many felt the opening fixtures were not kind to the miners who played the last season’s top three teams – FC Platinum, Chicken Inn and Dynamos.
And, there was an air of expectation that they would start to cruise afterwards, as they had managed just a point.
Simba Bhora were beaten by two struggling sides, Green Fuel and Cranborne Bullets, in their past two games.
These two teams recorded their first wins in the Castle Lager Premiership campaign at the cost of the Shamva side.
Ndiraya attributed their slow start to tricky fixtures, playing twice in a space of five days and some experienced players not coming to the party.
Simba Bhora are set to play Highlanders this weekend at Barbourfields.
Mathew Masinge
Online Reporter