'Give Amini Bosso job,' says Zenzo Moyo

FORMER Highlanders hitman Zenzo Moyo, has added his voice to growing calls for the club's leadership to give Amini Soma-Phiri the reins at the Bulawayo giants.

Moyo, the 2000 Soccer Star of the Year, said it was folly for the club to opt for a European coach, who will link the club and players to European clubs, as Bosso have exported a number of players to that continent without such a link.

Bosso vice-chairman Mgcini Mpofu on Monday night said the club was looking beyond Soma-Phiri, whom he said was not good enough to be substantive coach.

Moyo was clearly not impressed as he made the grade in Cyprus without any European link to Bosso.

"What links are they talking about? Highlanders is a brand on its own and therefore does not need any link. In any case, the new guy is probably the one who needs Bosso so that he can get links elsewhere. A number of players from Bosso have gone to Europe, not because someone linked the club, but because of the brand Bosso itself," said Moyo.

He said Soma-Phiri did a good job and deserves the Highlanders' coaching job.

"He was bonding well with the boys and did a good job, and for the club to break that bond now could prove catastrophic next season. What else do they need? Amini is also a former Highlanders' player who understands what that institution means," Moyo said.

He said the bond that Soma-Phiri had created with the players could have been used as a negotiating tool with most Bosso players, whose contracts are coming to an end on December 31.

Moyo becomes the fourth high profile former Highlanders' player to publicly back Soma-Phiri for the high pressure job despite the club leadership's European focus.

Former captains Dazzy Kapenya, Bekithemba Ndlovu as well as veteran Douglas "British" Mloyi, have already declared their backing for Soma-Phiri.

The club's fans have also taken to various social media platforms to vent their anger at the Bosso executive's decision to dump Soma-Phiri and his technical team after he led the team to a respectable finish in the league and secured silverware in the form of the Easycall Cup. The Bulawayo giants finished in sixth place in the league after hovering on the edges of relegation before Soma-Phiri came into the picture in September.

Bosso had endured a two-year major trophy drought since lifting the Mbada Diamonds Cup in 2013 and fans feel that Soma-Phiri's combination with interim technical director Cosmas "Tsano" Zulu and interim assistant coach Melusi "Mabaleka" Sibanda is good enough to lead Bosso to the league championship next year.