BULAWAYO Chiefs head coach Thulani Sibanda has ruled his side out of the 2015 Southern Region Soccer League championship race saying his team is on a rebuilding exercise.
SAKHELENI NXUMALO SPORTS CORRESPONDENT
Sibanda, who has twice won the league championship – first with Quelaton in 2011 and with Chiefs in 2013 – said his team would not be concerned about challenging for honours as they are restructuring.
“We have young boys in our squad and our main goal will be to groom them rather than to chase promotion.
“And anyway, the reality this year is that Bulawayo City will be too strong for all the teams in the division and I believe that had they been playing in the PSL they would finish in the top four,” Sibanda said.
Chiefs lost a number of seasoned campaigners to the Bulawayo City Council-owned Bulawayo City, but managed to lure Ishmael Wadi and Joseph Mutambiranwa from Harare where Sibanda spent part of last season when he was in charge of police outfit ZRP FC (formerly Black Mambas).
Mutambiranwa has lots of experience after stints with Monomotapa, Eastern Lions and Caps United.
Other experienced players at Chiefs include former Quelaton, FC Platinum and Harare City midfielder Mhleli Sibanda and the versatile Proud Zireni.
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Another player who could feature for Chiefs is striker Ashton Mhlanga whose move to Highlanders from ZRP FC hit a snag after negotiations stalled.
Sibanda said he had since been in touch with his former team to try and negotiate a clearance for Mhlanga.
“I am the one who took Ashton to Harare and now that he is experiencing difficulties in securing a release I feel it is my obligation to try and assist him and hopefully he will get his clearance soon,” he said.
“What will happen after that will depend on Highlanders, but we will readily accommodate him if they loan him to us,”.
Former Ajax Hotspurs holding midfielder Peter Muduhwa is already on loan at Chiefs from Highlanders.
