Author: BENJAMIN BEN
AfricaPress-Tanzania: THE newly paraded Ihefu FC Head Coach, Zuberi Katwila said a win against Azam in his first match with the club will be a morale boosting test for him and the whole team.
Debutants Ihefu host Premier League leaders, Azam at Sokoine Memorial Stadium in Mbeya today, which will see the visitors hitting 21 points if they emerge winners, and establish an 8 points gap at the summit of the ladder.
For Ihefu, it has been a new negative start for them in the unfolding league, as in their past six matches, they have won only one match and lost five encounters to occupy 17th slot on the log with 3 points.
But, speaking yesterday ahead of the match, Katwila who previously coached Mtibwa Sugar, conceded that he has not imparted anything new to his players other than building them psychologically.
“I have inherited a new team, which was there trading with a new coach and just had one training session with them which is not enough to change anything.
“The most important thing for them is to have a positive mentality and know that they are facing a quality team which is leading the league chart at the moment as such, they need to be psychologically prepared,” he said.
He added that the main reason behind him crossing the boundaries was to see new challenges in his coaching career and that he is looking forward to that.
Katwila, however, narrated that there are some things which he cannot disclose to the public which also partly contributed to farewell Mtibwa Sugar, a club he said made him great both as a player and coach.
“I have left a homework to Mtibwa Sugar management for them to work on, so that the club can move forward. As a coach, I too deserve respect for the job I do and there are some things which they failed to address and I cannot name them,” he said.
However, the recent record of Katwila while at Mtibwa Sugar was not that convincing, as they narrowly escaped league relegation last season and this term, he guided them to one win, two draws and three losses.
In a related development, Mtibwa Sugar Information Officer, Thobias Kifaru refuted claims that Katwila was sacked by the club, saying the decision for him to seek green pastures elsewhere was by himself and that the club has fully embraced it.
“We loved him a lot and he stayed at our club for nearly 21 years and he started his football career as a player for Mtibwa Sugar in 1999. He helped the club to clinch league title in 1999 and 2000,” Kifaru said.
