CAPS Utd squad takes shape
CAPS United coach Lloyd Chitembwe has hailed his charges for their work ethic as they angle to be competitive in the 2024 Premiership season.
The veteran gaffer has chosen continuity over total rebuilding after retaining the core of the squad he had in his ranks last season.
He has also added nine new players, most of whom with vast top-flight experience, into the fold.
While he has committed the first three weeks of the pre-season preparations to physiological and technical aspects of the game, Chitembwe says he is excited with the willingness of his players to leave everything in the field of play.
“I can’t really say much at this juncture as we are just three weeks into our pre-season,” Chitembwe said.
“We are yet to really get into the mental and tactical performance phases because we need to prepare the players for that first.
“So at the moment, we are still concentrating much of our energy working on the technical and physiological aspects of the game.
“I am very happy with how the players have been responding so far. All is looking positive and we are really enjoying the work.
“Of course I can say, in terms of preparations, we are between 40-50 percent because we are yet to dwell into the tactical and mental preparation side.
“But so far so good, it’s looking exciting and we are heading in the right direction from the way I see it”.
Chitembwe, the only CAPS United son to win the league title both as a player and a coach will be looking to engage different gears in the 2024 season to improve the Green Machine’s performance.
Makepekepe finished eighth last season with 46 points to their name, 20 behind champions Ngezi Platinum Stars.
That was an improvement from their 11th place finish the season before with 39 points in the bag and a massive 32 points off the title winners FC Platinum.
And the former Warriors midfielder will be hoping to build a team capable of restoring the pride associated with the CAPS United brand.
Already Makepekepe president Farai Jere has given an insight into what the entire team is working on to rise back to the top.
“If you look at it, CAPS United played very well in the initial stages of the season last year. They played very well but suddenly started dropping points towards the middle of the season.
“But as everything seemed to be deteriorating, the team peaked again and started collecting points with remarkable consistency,” said Jere.
“So what we noticed is that we are good starters neither are we bad finishers.
“But our dry spell arrived in the middle of the season. So if you look at it closely, we are never a bad team but we just need to look at what caused us to slump midway through the stream.
“We have so much confidence in the team and our coach Lloyd Chitembwe. We will obviously be very competitive next season because I know we have learnt a lot now”.
CAPS United have signed some of the highly-rated players around such as forwards Lot Chiwunga and Ralph Kawondera who can also play as a defender or midfielder.
Simba Gunda, veteran defender Bruce Kangwa who spent seven years with Tanzanian side Azam, ex-Ngezi Platinum Stars Wayne Makuva who was on loan at Triangle last year, Munyaradzi Chirwa, Tafadzwa Jabangwe and Junior Bunjira have all joined Makepekepe.