We’ve assembled the best squad: Ndiraya
DYNAMOS coach Tonderai Ndiraya believes he has assembled probably the best side the team has had in a long time.
He said their Independence Trophy final match against Highlanders at the National Sports Stadium on Sunday will give the team’s supporters a hint of what to expect in the coming season.
The club acquired five experienced players this year to add on to the numerous additions last season when the season failed to kick off due to COVID-19 restrictions.
“People should expect a different Dynamos this year,” Ndiraya told journalists yesterday.
“We are dynamic and have exciting players within our squad, so our fans should be in for a treat. We have a better squad than that of 2019. We have a much better squad than the squad that we had last year although we didn’t play games. It takes a while to build a strong side and a team is built gradually, so that is what we have been doing all along.”
The players who joined this year include strikers Tinashe Makanda and Newman Sianchali, defenders Shadreck Nyahwa and Frank Makarati as well as Trevor Mavhunga.
“They are good players and they should give us a good blend in the team. They should help us to be competitive. This is the sort of quality that we have acquired in an endeavour to build a good side. Our fans have suffered for a long time and it is high time that we start to perform as we are expected to do as Dynamos.”
He said they were still looking to add a goalkeeper after the departure of Simba Chinani.
Turning to the forthcoming match against Highlanders which is used to celebrate the country’s independence, Ndiraya said: “Dynamos and Highlanders don’t engage in friendly matches, so this will be a crunch match. We are optimistic about our team. This game presents us with an opportunity to assess our squad further. This is an opportunity for us to unveil our squad to our fans who have been clamouring to see what we have this season. So Sunday will be a special day for us, for the country and for our fans when they finally get to see their team in action.”
“People should understand that we are in the early pre-season stage, so it is difficult to teach the players much about the game.
“Physically, we won’t be fit for the match. You need a minimum of six weeks to be fit for such a match. But we are ready psychologically. But they still should expect a decent performance. They (fans) just shouldn’t expect much in terms of intensity because of the fitness levels of the teams and the individual players. But we are going to engage Highlanders in a serious manner and hope to win the trophy.”
Dynamos have appealed to the tournament organisers to allow teams to use as many substitutes as possible during the match to avoid overloading the players.