Dynamos coach Tonderai Ndiraya said that his squad has made significant progress this season and will be ready to challenge for the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League title next season.
The Glamour Boys were knocked out of the Chibuku Super Cup by FC Platinum after losing 4-2 on penalties at the quarterfinal stage.
DeMbare were beaten to the title by eventual winners FC Platinum, who won it for the fourth time in a row.
Ndiraya explained that the Dynamos couldn’t fight for the title this season because most of the players were new to the club and needed time to adjust to the “pressure” of playing for the club. He said:
For most of the guys, it’s their first full season with us and it’s extremely difficult for most of them to handle the pressure.
But I am happy that with that pressure, the team has done extremely well. It has been a learning curve for some of them.
You know how it is with our team. It’s difficult because of pressure. But going forward, I guess most of them would know what it is to play for Dynamos and the pressure associated with the team.
It is about handling the pressure associated with our team. Of course, some of them I thought they handled the pressure quite well.
Otherwise, it was going to be disastrous. Despite getting nothing out of the season, I think we must also give it up to those players who joined us this year — quite a number of them – for the show they put up.
Of course the expectations were so high but you can’t assemble a team in one season and win the title.
Football is a process and we are in the process of building a team. It’s my feeling that if we retain most of the players that we have and add a few in the areas that need to be reinforced, the team will be strong next year and will be up for competition.
Dynamos are currently in third place with 57 points, three behind second-placed Chicken Inn with one match to the end of the season.
Their final game of the season is against cross-town rivals CAPS United and will be hoping that Chicken Inn fall to Triangle, which will place both teams on 60 points.
If that happens, Dynamos will finish in second place as they have a superior goal difference compared to the Gamecocks. | NewsDay