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Stanford “Stix” Mtizwa

Chipo Sabeta Senior Reporter
BLACK RHINOS are backing their head coach Stanford “Stix” M’tizwa despite a pro-longed period of misery that has seen them slumping to five straight defeats in the Castle Lager Premiership. M’tizwa enjoyed a purple patch of form in the first half of the season that saw them occupying the top of the table and dominating monthly awards.

However, the two-time Zimbabwe champions have dropped to eighth position on the Premiership table after five consecutive defeats at the hands of Ngezi Platinum 2-4, Chapungu 0-2, Dynamos 0-1, Bantu Rovers 0-1 and Chicken Inn 0-1.

Their next assignment is a tough duel against a resurgent CAPS United tomorrow at the National Sports Stadium. Despite their poor recent run, the club are giving M’tizwa, who watched the Green Machine thrash Ngezi Platinum 3-0 at Rufaro on Sunday, their full support and are willing to assist him turn things around. Black Rhinos secretary-general Camble Sithole said M’tizwa will remain at the helm of the army side.

“M’tizwa retains the club’s support and trust for now. I cannot say what will happen in future but we are backing him,’’ said Sithole.

“M’tizwa is a great coach. Nobody doubts that. He is a proven coach and has years of experience as a player and coach to back that up.

“He has his own way of doing things, and has shown what he can do so far.

“We might not be happy with the team’s inconsistent run but we have to stick with him for now. We don’t have a reputation of hiring and firing on a regular basis.

“It seems to me a lack of respect to speak of the possibility of having his replacement considering what he has done for the club.

“He is the same coach who took us from Northern Region Division One. We had our best performance in the first half of the season and it will be unfair for now to sack him. In-fact, we have exceeded our expectations.

“Our aim was to survive relegation this year. We are also considering the resources we have in terms of players, financial among other things.’’

Sithole conceded they have not been playing well of late but said the blame couldn’t be lumped on the coach alone.

He also believes they have been unlucky on some occasions.

Black Rhinos play CAPS United for the first time this season in a re-arranged fixture tomorrow at the National Sports Stadium. M’tizwa insists the match against the champions “is just a game.’’

“We will play to win and hoping to fight for the best. For me it’s about triumph. My boys are focused and we are eyeing a positive result despite a poor form.

“I believe that we will bounce back. We are preparing and we are confident of collecting maximum points,” he said.