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Eddie Chikamhi Sports Reporter
UNDERFIRE Dynamos coach Paulo Jorge Silva last night survived the dreaded chop, but the Portuguese is not yet in the safe zone after the club’s executive decided to give him and his technical staff three games to save their skins by collecting maximum points.

The Harare giants have had a poor start this year in both league and cup competitions and the executive, which of late has also been feeling the pressure, demanded results when they summoned the coaching department and told them their jobs are on the line.

DeMbare secretary-general Webster Chikengezha spoke tough when he declared that nothing short of three straight wins would keep the current technical staff in their jobs.

The other members of the club’s coaching department include assistant coach Lloyd Mutasa, goalkeepers’ trainer Gift Muzadzi and team manager Richard Chihoro.

Chikengezha said they will not take lightly to the allegations of sabotage that have been raised by the coach against some of the players and members of his backroom staff.

Silva was also asked to put his house in order following reports of sour relations and the endless infighting in the Glamour Boys’ dressing room.

Goalkeepers’ coach Muzadzi, who has been caught up in the eye of the storm, has been summoned to a hearing following the comments he made in the newspaper over his souring relations with the coach.

However, there was a consensus at the meeting last night that the Portuguese mentor was not taking the club anywhere after losing to ZPC Kariba in the ZNA Charities match, twice to Chicken Inn in the league and cup competitions and again to FC Platinum on Monday in the third place play-off of the Independence Cup.

Chikengezha said they have told the coach that DeMbare will need to beat Mutare City Rovers at Sakubva this Saturday and win again in the blockbuster Harare Derby against CAPS United next week. Silva and his crew would also need to collect maximum points in the match against Hwange to beat the ultimatum.

“We have given them an ultimatum to win the next three matches. They have to collect maximum points and this effectively means that if they draw the match in Mutare this weekend or any one of the coming three matches, they are all gone, the entire technical team,” said Chikengezha.

“According to what we agreed in his contract, we are not happy at all with the way the team has fared so far. We had told him that we will review his performance after the first eight competitive games of the year and these include the pre-season Cup games, like the Bob Super Cup if we had played it.

“But now we have only played the ZNA Charities Shield, two league games and the two Independence Cup games, which brings the total to five matches. In those matches he has lost four and drawn one, which is way below par.

“So in this meeting it’s like we were just reminding him about the eight games. So far he has played five and for the remaining three games, he has to win all.”

DeMbare have not made an impact in the two cup competitions they have played so far and they are currently in the lower rungs after losing 0-3 to Chicken Inn and drawing nil-all with Triangle.

Worse, the club has not scored a goal in all the five games under review and the coach has been on record claiming that some of his players are not playing for him. Silva has been tasked to help Dynamos reclaim the league title, but there have been quite a lot of negatives coming out of the camp while the results have been disappointing.

Chikengezha said the coach should back his sabotage claims with a detailed report.

“If they have their own issues in the technical department, then they have to produce a proper report. We cannot act on things that we hear or read from the media.

“Look, we have heard about these sabotage issues and first it was Muzadzi and now it’s the players. So we are saying give us a detailed report of what exactly is being done to sabotage you.

“They may not be having good relations as reported and we are asking them to sit down as a technical team and try to sort out wherever they think they are not agreeing.

“We understand these guys are professionals and they are in these jobs for the team.

“What this club needs are results and if they fail to meet their targets because of their own personal differences then it means they are all losers and we have no option, but to let them go,” said Chikengezha.

Silva has been living dangerously in the last two weeks after he was given a final written warning by the club following a scuffle with Walter Magaya during a friendly match.

He has also clashed with his assistant Muzadzi and a number of players including Takesure Chinyama who has since packed his bags back to Poland.

Chikengezha also indicated that the club does not take lightly to issues of indiscipline following this week’s report that Silva had to drop some senior players and replaced them with rookies because of mischief and ended up with only three players on the bench in the 2-0 loss to FC Platinum.

The players will be called for a hearing once a report has been submitted. However, goalkeepers’ coach Muzadzi, who is currently attending a CAF C Licence Coaching course in Mutare will be prosecuted by the club’s disciplinary committee over a newspaper interview he gave to The Herald.

“With Muzadzi, he is still part and parcel of the coaching staff, but we are going to charge him with certain issues he uttered in an interview with your paper (The Herald).

“He raised some things which bring the game of football into disrepute and he should be called to a hearing once he returns from the coaching course he is attending in Mutare,” said Chikengezha.