The Warriors’ dismal performances at the ongoing African Nations Championship (CHAN) have partly been attributed to a lack of respect shown towards head coach Zdravko Logarušić by his assistants, Lloyd Chitembwe and Tonderai Ndiraya.
A Warriors player who was part of the squad which played Algeria in back to back Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers last November, told Soccer24 that Chitembwe is the biggest culprit as he openly criticises Loga in his presence, taking advantage of the Croatian’s inability to understand Shona. The unnamed player said:
I don’t know if sabotage is the word but the assistant coaches do not respect Loga and that obviously results in players not respecting him too.
Lodza (Chitembwe) in particular, is not a fan of Loga. He criticizes his methods every time and even once whispered that he is not good enough to coach the national team.
Chitembwe takes advantage of Loga’s inability to understand Shona and condemns him even his presence, he just doesn’t believe the Croatian is the right man for the job.
The Warriors player, who spoke to Soccer24 on condition of anonymity, claimed that there are divisions within the squad caused by Chitembwe as he tends to ostracise individuals he thinks are good enough. He added:
Ask some other players if what I’m saying isn’t true, the regrettable divisions among the players are traceable back to Lodza.
He believes some of the players selected by Loga are not good enough to be called and he is hostile to them while very pleasant to the ones he prefers. It’s a big problem.
The Warriors returned from Cameroon with their tails between their legs after losing all their three Group A matches to Cameroon (1-0), Burkina Faso (3-1) and Mali (1-0).