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Langton Nyakwenda-Sports Reporter

WARRIORS coach Michael Nees has opened up on his bust-up with England-based forward Tawanda Chirewa, with the German exhibiting a fatherly nature in handling his players’ emotions.

The 57-year-old coach says he has not come into the Warriors dressing room as a dictator, but as a gaffer who understands that players are not robots but human beings with feelings and emotions.

This comes after Chirewa, who plies his trade with English Championship side Derby County strayed from the disciplinary line when expressing his displeasure at being substituted during Zimbabwe’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Kenya in Uganda last month.

It was the first time that Nees, who was unveiled as Zimbabwe coach on August 22, was taking charge of the Warriors.

He also later presided over the Warriors other Group J qualifier against Cameroon.

Both games, which were played at Nelson Mandela Stadium in Kampala in September, ended goalless but the one against the Harambee Stars was not without incident as there was a fallout between Nees and emerging star Chirewa.

The 20-year-old was not happy with the coach’s decision to substitute him in the 58th minute, despite a below-par showing.

So mad was Chirewa that he even refused to speak to the media on the eve of the next game against Cameroon.

Chirewa did not start against the Indomitable Lions and only came on as an 86th-minute replacement for Walter Musona.

It was evident Chirewa was reluctant to come on, as assistant coach Takesure Chiragwi kept on persuading him to warm up.

Breaking his silence on the saga, Nees insisted the issue was now water under the bridge and expects to see an inspired Chirewa when Zimbabwe resumes their Nations Cup qualification campaign with back-to-back clashes against Namibia at Orlando stadium in Johannesburg on October 10 and 14.

The Warriors are bidding for a place at the 2025 AFCON tourney in Morocco.

Both matches will be staged at the Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa.

“(What happened) is a normal thing in football, although It’s not a good thing.

“There are no ill feelings from my side and the boy mustn’t be worried about being punished whatsoever.

“I am not a dictator,” Nees told Zimpapers Sports Hub.

“There will always be hiccups in team development.

“The only thing is that this cannot happen always and the players need to understand why it should not happen.

“The good thing is that he (Chirewa) apologised two times, what else must he do now?

“That’s more than enough, it’s now over.”

The coach feels the incident could work in favour of Chirewa, whom he expects to be refreshed and eager to prove a point when the Warriors face Namibia.

“He was angry because he was substituted, he was very angry with himself maybe.

“And everybody expresses emotions differently, but that is over.”

Nees also explained why he benched Chirewa in the goalless draw against Cameroon on September 10.

“Tawanda is a very talented player, but look at how much game time he had in the last two, or three months.”

Chirewa played cameo roles for Premier League side Wolves last season before he was loaned out to Championship team Derby County in August.

The 20-year-old has also started just once in Derby County’s seven league matches.

“So, for him to start the game against Kenya and then play about 60 minutes in an international match was in itself an achievement and a sign of trust from the technical team.

“But against Cameroon, we needed to have a different approach, because it was a different team, and I thought, we needed a little bit more physical presence.

“That’s why another player (Douglas Mapfumo) came in and it proved to be good.

“It was not like a punishment for Chirewa”.

Nees said he expects different emotions from his players along the qualification journey, “because they are not robots.”

“Players are human beings with ambitions, with dreams, with motivations, with problems, like all of us.

“So, it’s very important to find out what drives them.”

“If you know a little bit about group psychology you will understand these players.

“When a new leader comes in or a new team is forming, there are different stages of progress.

“There’s a so-called storming phase, there’s always a little bit of conflict.

“Maybe a player tries to push the boundaries, it’s a normal thing in group psychology, in team development.”

Nees likened Chirewa’s case to an incident that happened in German football back in the 1970s.

A player called Gunter Netzer, then with Gladbach, started the 1973 DFB Cup final against FC Koln on the bench.

In extra time, with the sides level at 1-1, Netzer substituted himself into the game and went on to score the winner.

“Neither the coach nor the player suffered a problem. So, what I want to say is that in football, these things happen.

“Normally, when I’m in camp with players I try to talk with every player one-on-one to find out a little bit more about them.

“I didn’t have this time during our last camp because the calendar is just                          packed.

“I want to get into the person a little so that I get to know the person a little bit deeper,’’ Nees said.