Plot to oust Dembare's Pasuwa emerges

DYNAMOS coach Callisto Pasuwa has vowed to weather the storm sweeping at the Harare giants, including a shadowy plot to oust him from his post, with the reigning Premiership Coach of The Year insisting his misfiring charges will soon come good again.

Pasuwa found himself under increasing pressure as Dynamos stuttered to their fourth successive league draw in as many starts when they held goalless by little Triangle at Rufaro on Sunday.

After a string of 1-1 draws against Black Mambas, Chicken Inn and Shabanie Mine, it got worse on Sunday as DeMbare this time failed to even find the target in a lifeless show that deflated the spirits of a decent crowd at Rufaro.

The disappointing manner in which Dynamos went about their business against Triangle also left the Harare giants' family deeply divided over what has really gone wrong with the champions.

With bitter rivals Highlanders' 100 percent start having been halted by Motor Action, who beat them 1-0 at fortress Barbourfields on Saturday, and city foes CAPS United's promising start having been checked by Buffaloes, who won by a similar margin at Gwanzura on the same day, the stage seemed to have been set for Dynamos to redeem themselves and close the gap on their rivals.

But DeMbare were as lifeless as they were clueless, especially late in the second half, when they became jittery at the back.

Some of the Dynamos faithful, unhappy with the way their team has started the defence of their Premiership title, attributed the slump to juju and a section of them sought to vent their frustration on long-serving committee member Simon Sachiti who had to be escorted out of Rufaro by the police after being accused of "sabotaging the team."

There is no doubting that Pasuwa, just like all his predecessors at Dynamos, naturally bears the brunt of the pressure that comes with such a poor start to the season.

Although the coach who has won back-to-back League and Cup doubles with the Glamour Boys, he acknowledged that four draws was not the kind of start they had hoped for and maintained that it is too early to rule the champions from mounting another successful defence of their titles.

It has, however, emerged that the plot to oust Pasuwa has been thickening with each game amid revelations that Dynamos are a deeply divided house at the moment with some, within the board of directors and the executive, piling pressure on chairman Kenny Mubaiwa to wield the axe on the coach.

The Herald can reveal that the faction that has been fighting to have Pasuwa fired lost out on when the matter was put to a vote during a meeting between the founding fathers and the executive.

That faction has, however, not given up hope and had banked on Triangle upstaging Dynamos at Rufaro to buttress their point about the need for changes in the technical department.

"There are some members of the board who have ganged up with some within the executive and are on a spirited campaign to ensure the coach is fired and they are questioning his capacity to lead Dynamos to glory.

"That crew has also been questioning the calibre of the players that Pasuwa acquired during the off-season following Dynamos' disappointing run in the Champions League.

"So the results and the team's performances of late seem to suit their scheme and the plot was to have the coach fired by the time Dynamos play Highlanders in the league game with Tonderai Ndiraya being appointed interim coach until a substantive head coach from among the former players is appointed ," sources close to the goings-on at Dynamos said.

But in the midst of the massive boardroom politics that is affecting the performance, and confidence of his charges, some of who have barely spent four months at Dynamos, Pasuwa remained a calm man and vowed that his side would weather the storm and soon find their rhythm.

Pasuwa whose mandate is clear ' to deliver the championship and at worst a second place finish at the end of the season ' declined to delve into the boardroom politics that has often seen many a Dynamos management pressing the self-destructive button.

The coach also declined to discuss the divided opinion among the club's fans and instead defended his players arguing that: "they are not as bad as they are being made to appear".

"I don't agree with the notion that we have a poor team. It is a just a matter time and I am sure very soon everyone will be appreciating these players.

"If you work with a player like Boban (Ziruntusa) at training you can see the talent and it just needs one good game for him in the league and he will start delivering. He has shown that in training and my message is that our fans should just be a bit patient with him and the rest of the team.

"It must be remembered that we have assembled a new team this season and the good thing is that on their bad days they are not losing but we are going to come right very soon and these youngsters will soon become heroes and even Fransciso (Zikumbawira) will start scoring.

"If you remember how we played against Highlanders in the Bob '89 Cup and the first leg against Lesotho Correctional Services you can see that we are not as bad as we appeared against Triangle, that is why I am saying the confidence will come back, we will convert the chances and we will start winning again," Pasuwa said.

It has emerged that those against the coach have been questioning the acquisitions of such players like goalkeeper Artwell Mukandi, Stephen Alimenda, Sydney Linyama, Washington Pakamisa and Allan Tavarwisa.

Pasuwa's cause has not been helped either by a spate of injuries that have at one stage or another sidelined such players like skipper Murape Murape, his deputy Tawanda Muparati, Ocean Mushure, Partson Jaure and Devon Chafa.

Those injuries have constantly forced him to chop and change his team for each outing while the club's management seems to be lethargic in getting a breakthrough on the clearances of defenders Morris Kadzola and Linyama who were with Motor Action and Chicken Inn last season.