Boozing Dembare players warned

Dynamos president Kenni Mubaiwa yesterday launched a furious tirade at his players at the team's training ground, warning them to refrain from drug and alcohol abuse.

The Glamour Boys have not won in their last six matches prompting coach Lloyd Mutasa to drop a number of senior players from the starting XI last weekend against Bulawayo City after reports alleged they were reporting for training drunk.

In a bid to stop the rot at the Harare giants, Mubaiwa and treasurer Webster Marechera spent almost an hour lecturing both the DeMbare technical staff and players on the need to be disciplined as they are role models of many Zimbabweans.

"I have come here to read the riot act telling the players that they are playing for Dynamos and not for an ordinary institution," Mubaiwa said.

"I have told them that they are some of the highly-paid players in the league and if they want to get drunk they can afford to buy expensive whisky and should desist from bronco (Bron-cleer). If they play a game they normally have two days off. That's when they should go and buy whisky not that cheap stuff (bronco).

"After that they should know they have to return to work sober and they should behave. What is expected from them is discipline.

"Prior to the game no player is allowed to drink. Our players should know they are playing for the biggest team in Zimbabwe; in fact these players are celebrities.

"Wherever they are, people are watching their every move and when they drink bronco, we start getting calls from those people telling us that our players are abusing drugs."

With the Castle Lager Premiership fast-approaching the home stretch, DeMbare have failed to garner maximum points in their previous six matches, drawing five while losing to lowly Border Strikers in the process.

The results have put a severe dent in DeMbare's title chase as they now trail log leaders FC Platinum by 11 points with 11 matches left before the season comes to an end.

Mubaiwa assured Mutasa and his assistants of his support and urged them to find a quick solution to their poor form.

"We have told the technical team and the players that if results are not coming usually there is a lot of talk," he said.

"They must do their best and ensure results start coming; there won't be any talk of giving them an ultimatum. At Dynamos, if we don't win the league, we normally finish in second place so we told them to work hard to try and achieve that."

This weekend, the Glamour Boys have a tough task on their hands as they face a Harare City side high on confidence after last Saturday's 2-0 win over Border Strikers.

Dynamos assistant coach Murape Murape said they were confident of collecting maximum points against the Sunshine Boys at Rufaro Stadium.

"Our preparations have been going on well and we are looking forward to maximum points. We are expecting a good game come Sunday," Murape said.

"We have been doing our homework and Harare City have also been doing their homework. They have a coach that we respect a lot our brother Moses Chunga — it's a Harare derby.

"They got a good result last week and we failed to do as such. Going into this one we will ask our players to go and enjoy their game and make sure they get a positive result.

"We have to ensure we get all the three points at all costs. We need to go out there and show our fans that we are Dynamos; we need to fight like Dynamos. We are confident in our abilities that we can go on and win some games."