Sports / Local
Chicken Inn coach quits
22 Oct 2013 at 04:54hrs | Views
CHICKEN Inn coach Mandla "Lulu" Mpofu has quit the Premier Soccer League (PSL) club following a string of poor results.
His departure was always coming as he was reported to have been handed a two-match ultimatum by the club's executive after Chicken Inn were booted out of the Mbada Diamonds Cup after losing 2-1 to Caps United in a quarter-final tie at Ascot Stadium last week.
Chicken Inn went on to lose by an identical scoreline to the same opponents in a league match last Wednesday before they lost by the same scoreline to Hwange at Barbourfields Stadium on Saturday.
Chicken Inn chairman Lifa Ncube yesterday confirmed that Mpofu had parted ways with the club.
"He tendered in his resignation on Sunday evening. He had found it tough, but we were hoping that he would turn around the results. We are happy with his achievement because he led us to our first trophy in the PSL. We are proud of this achievement, but we were hoping that he would help us finish in a better position in the league," he said.
The statement on Chicken Inn's official website yesterday headlined: "Lulu cuts ties with Chicken Inn" read:
"Our head coach Mandla 'Lulu' Mpofu has officially resigned. Mkhuphali Masuku will be the acting head coach till further notice . . ."
Contacted for comment, Mpofu refused to give his side of the story.
Chicken Inn lifted the NetOne Charity Shield after they beat Caps United 3-2 in the final that was played in Zvishavane in March.
The Gamecocks were also expected to do well in the Mbada Diamonds Cup, but were bundled out by Caps United as they were targeting the cup game as their ticket to represent the country in the Confederations Cup continental club tournament.
Mpofu was a visibly dejected man following the loss to Hwange on Saturday.
"It is football. These are bad days, I am very disappointed. We have lost three matches in a row and today was just disappointing. We had poor defending and goalkeeping and as much as we want a solution this is really bad. It is becoming difficult for us to maintain our goals for the season and finishing in the top four will depend on how the other teams play and only if a miracle happens.
"We do not get to the ball first and Hwange could have scored two or three goals in the first half. We were not playing as a team," he said. Mpofu joined Chicken Inn last year as assistant to the late former Warriors and Highlanders striker Adam Ndlovu.
A former Railstars coach, Mpofu guided Chicken Inn to a third place finish last season with the late Ndlovu. At the time of his departure, he was being assisted by Masuku.
His departure was always coming as he was reported to have been handed a two-match ultimatum by the club's executive after Chicken Inn were booted out of the Mbada Diamonds Cup after losing 2-1 to Caps United in a quarter-final tie at Ascot Stadium last week.
Chicken Inn went on to lose by an identical scoreline to the same opponents in a league match last Wednesday before they lost by the same scoreline to Hwange at Barbourfields Stadium on Saturday.
Chicken Inn chairman Lifa Ncube yesterday confirmed that Mpofu had parted ways with the club.
"He tendered in his resignation on Sunday evening. He had found it tough, but we were hoping that he would turn around the results. We are happy with his achievement because he led us to our first trophy in the PSL. We are proud of this achievement, but we were hoping that he would help us finish in a better position in the league," he said.
The statement on Chicken Inn's official website yesterday headlined: "Lulu cuts ties with Chicken Inn" read:
"Our head coach Mandla 'Lulu' Mpofu has officially resigned. Mkhuphali Masuku will be the acting head coach till further notice . . ."
Chicken Inn lifted the NetOne Charity Shield after they beat Caps United 3-2 in the final that was played in Zvishavane in March.
The Gamecocks were also expected to do well in the Mbada Diamonds Cup, but were bundled out by Caps United as they were targeting the cup game as their ticket to represent the country in the Confederations Cup continental club tournament.
Mpofu was a visibly dejected man following the loss to Hwange on Saturday.
"It is football. These are bad days, I am very disappointed. We have lost three matches in a row and today was just disappointing. We had poor defending and goalkeeping and as much as we want a solution this is really bad. It is becoming difficult for us to maintain our goals for the season and finishing in the top four will depend on how the other teams play and only if a miracle happens.
"We do not get to the ball first and Hwange could have scored two or three goals in the first half. We were not playing as a team," he said. Mpofu joined Chicken Inn last year as assistant to the late former Warriors and Highlanders striker Adam Ndlovu.
A former Railstars coach, Mpofu guided Chicken Inn to a third place finish last season with the late Ndlovu. At the time of his departure, he was being assisted by Masuku.
Source - newsday
