BY TAWANDA TAFIRENYIKA
FORMER Ngezi Platinum coach Tonderai Ndiraya has made a sensational return to the Dynamos hot seat three years after he was dumped by the club.
Ndiraya, who also coaches the Zimbabwe Under-23 side, replaces Lloyd Chigowe, who was sacked yesterday morning after a technical committee review meeting following a string of poor results, the final straw being the shock 1-0 defeat to lowly Herentals on Sunday.
Although Dynamos chairperson Isiah Mupfurutsa could not disclose much detail, it was established yesterday that the club hierarchy spoke to the former DeMbare midfielder, who is said to have agreed to return, with the coach set to begin work today.
“He (Ndiraya) has been spoken to and has agreed in principle. What is just left is contractual issues, but it’s a done deal. Look, he is the most popular among the supporters and the fact that he is not attached to a club and is coaching the national team has informed the executive’s decision,” an informed source said.
Mupfurutsa could only confirm Chigowe’s departure, choosing not to dwell much on Ndiraya’s appointment.
“We have parted ways with Lloyd Chigowe and his assistants Murape Murape, Expense Chitukutu and goalkeepers’ coach Marlon Jani,” he said. “When we hired the coach, we gave him the freedom to choose his own assistants and now that the coach has stepped aside, he will leave with his assistants and the incoming coach will also choose his own assistants. If he wishes to restore some of the outgoing members, it will be entirely up to him. We are talking to several coaches and have a number of options and I can assure you we will engage a reputable coach. We will have the new coach before the weekend matches. In the meantime, team captain Edward Sadomba and team manager Richard Chihoro will take charge of the training programmes.”
Ndiraya coached Dynamos in 2015, but the club hierarchy decided against renewing his contract after he finished in second position behind champions Chicken Inn. He joined Ngezi Platinum in the middle of the 2016 season and lasted until last year when he was relieved of his duties as it became apparent that the club would not win the league title which was eventually clinched by FC Platinum.
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There were chaotic scenes at the end of the match at Rufaro on Sunday after Dynamos lost 1-0 to lowly Herentals as frustrated DeMbare supporters barricaded the main entrance and blocked their team bus from leaving. It needed the intervention of the riot police to disperse the crowd.
The season started with a lot of optimism for the Dynamos faithful following some good transfer business by the club where they went shopping in Cameroon, Ghana and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Following a winning start to the campaign where they accounted for Mushowani Stars, DeMbare have lost three successive matches and with that string of poor results, the club management decided to wield the axe on Chigowe.
