AS the debate on the absence of Highlanders coach Kelvin Kaindu continues, his counterpart at Shabanie Mine, Luke Masomere, believes the former Zambian international considered his future after Highlanders in going to the United Kingdom.
EPHRAIM SHOKO/ SUKOLUHLE MTHETHWA
Bosso will meet Shabanie Mine in the last Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match of the season with Kaindu holed up in the UK for Uefa B Licence badges.
He has already missed two matches, the 1-1 draw against Motor Action two weeks ago and the 0-4 humiliation at the hands of Harare City last Sunday.
Now Bosso’s chances of landing their first title since 2006 no longer lie in their hands and depend on ifs, buts and maybes.
But Masomere has thrown his weight behind Kaindu saying: “Personally I wouldn’t have left the club at such a crucial stage.
I think to some extent his departure might have affected the team’s performance. When you are chasing the championship or fighting relegation, you would want to summon all the resources and you have to make sure you achieve your goal.
“But yet again you have to look at the coach’s career. This might have been the only chance he had to further his studies and enhance his status as a coach. When you look at all that, you will understand his (Kaindu) decision. For him at some point there would be life after Highlanders and he would need that qualification. So from that viewpoint you have to bear with him,” the outspoken gaffer said.
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Turning to the weekend’s clash, Masomere said he would fight tooth and nail to register a positive result from Highlanders and secure a top-eight finish which would enable his side to defend the BancABC Sup8r Cup.
Shabanie Mine are also not safe from relegation and would need at least a point from Highlanders to steer away from the chasing pack of Black Rhinos, Buffaloes and Black Mambas, Triangle and Hwange who are all facing the chop.
“We have to prepare very well for this match because it will not be an easy one. We are not yet safe from relegation and we still harbour ambitions of a top-eight finish. That makes the match a must-win for us,” Masomere said.
Bosso assistant coach Bekithemba Ndlovu will again take charge of the match. He said they would need nothing other than a win.
“We must finish strongly by beating Shabanie Mine. We need to win the match. The race is still open and anything can happen. We still have a chance. We have not given up. What we have to do is to win the match and hope that other results work in our favour.
“It is bad that we now have to depend on the results of other teams when we could have won the championship if we had beaten Harare City. We tried against Harare City, but the effort was not enough. The mentality of being strong whereby players prefer dying on the field so as to get a result, was not there,” he said.
“It was a learning curve for us. We have learnt that we have to try and win games on our own and not depend on other teams to do it for us,” he said.
Masomere said Tarisai Rukanda, Pervington Zimunya, Caleb Masocha and Valentine Ndaba were being assessed.
Ndlovu said they were assessing Dumisani “Fazo” Ndlovu, Mthulisi Maphosa, Njabulo Ncube and Bruce Kangwa.
