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Lloyd Mutasa

Petros Kausiyo Deputy Sports Editor
AS the heat intensifies in the kitchen where Premiership champions are brewed, the Dynamos leadership have thrown their full weight behind under-pressure coach Lloyd Mutasa and his charges insisting they are confident the Glamour Boys still have the pedigree to win the 2017 title. Dynamos vice-president Solomon Sanyamandwe said yesterday his management would not press any panic button despite Mutasa’s men having dropped four valuable points in the title run in their last two assignments.

The Harare giants were held 1-1 by ZPC Kariba away at Nyamhunga last Saturday before being restricted to another draw by a similar margin by lowly Tsholotsho at the National Sports Stadium on Wednesday. Those two results have thrust Mutasa in the spotlight as they meant that Dynamos surrendered the destiny of their title chase to rivals FC Platinum, who secured a vital 2-0 mid-week win over Shabanie Mine in a Zvishavane derby at Mandava.

“We were all disappointed with the result because it was a case of two points dropped. The coach was disappointed the players were disappointed and the fans were disappointed. But we also understand that these things happen in football when you are now involved in such pressure games where you must avoid making a lot of mistakes and we are saying as management we will not put any further pressure on the coach and the players. They all need our support and we will do our part to ensure we help the team manage the pressure. In times like these there will be internal pressure and external pressure because the ultimate goal is to win the championship now that the chance has presented itself,’’ Sanyamandwe said.

A fierce DeMbare fan who later rose into the ranks of the club’s leadership, Sanyamandwe said he would take advantage of the break in the Premiership fixtures this weekend to throw a braai for the coach and his players “just to calm nerves’’ before they resume their onslaught with a tough away assignment against Ngezi Platinum at Baobab. League games will make way for the saying for the Chibuku Super Cup semi-finals this weekend where a double header has been set for Barbourfields.

“Since we don’t have a game this weekend we will have a braai so that the coach and his players can put behind them the last two results and instead focus on the outstanding games. It is important to remain focussed on the upcoming games because there are still a lot of points to play for and the title race has not been lost simply because we are now in second place and just one point behind. We just need to remain united and bond as a family so that we conquer together. People are also forgetting that we didn’t start well because we did not have the best of preparations with a lot of new players coming on board and I think if anything the credit must go to the coach for working so hard to get us to be where we are now and to be within sight of the championship title. All I am saying is let’s help the coach and his players to clear the remaining hurdles and I have all the confidence that we can win our remaining matches. We have the capacity to win the championship,’’ Sanyamandwe said. Dynamos board chairman Bernard Marriot also weighed in and reckoned that his team would soon overcome their loss of form in time to keep alive their title hopes.

“Every team in the championship race always has its ups and downs and I think we have just had our low point but we will rise again. I think if we all remain united we can still succeed. We have been in such situations before and we urge our supporters to all come in numbers now because we really need them in these crucial matches. We need them to help make the difference especially when are at home,’’ Marriot said. The DeMbare fans virtually deserted their team in its hour of need on Wednesday with one of their worst crowds watching the game at the National Sports Stadium.