Nomads panic
Be Forward Wanderers say they are panicking in the wake of continued poor showing culminating in their 1-0 TNM Super League loss to Red Lions on Sunday in Mangochi.
The TNM Super League champions lie on an unenviable 12th place in the 16-team league, just two places shy of the relegation zone.
The Lali Lubani Road outfit has won only two from six games, drawn two and lost twice as well. At the same point last season, they had won five and drawn once enroute to winning the title.
Club chairperson Gift Mkandawire and vice-general secretary Chulu Mkangama have since attributed the poor run to lack of commitment on the part of the players.
Said Mkandawire: “To be honest, we are now panicking and it is getting a bit scary. For all our shortfalls, we never expected to lose against Red Lions.
“We underrated them and by the time we realised that things would go wrong, it was too late. This continued drop of points has created panic and the players need to conduct some soul-searching and abandon their casual approach.”
However, the Nomads boss said regardless of their current struggles, they have confidence in their players.
“We contribute the highest number of players [eight] to the national team and that speaks volumes about our class and it means the national team coach saw potential in our players.
“That said, I would like to assure all nyerere [Wanderers fans] that we will turn the corner,” he said.
On his part, Mkangama said the players need to give out more.
“The players need to be reminded that they get paid for playing football and as an employer, the club expects more.
“As it is, it would appear they lack commitment to the badge, but I wouldn’t say we have reached a crisis level although the situation is cause for concern,” he said.
Mkangama also said they might meet the players for post-mortem and map the way forward.
Team captain Alfred Manyozo Jnr was clueless when asked on the team’s poor showing.
“To be honest with you, I really don’t know what to say. We [players] cannot blame the coaches because they are trying their best, neither can we point fingers at the club’s management.
“It’s us players that are failing to deliver on the pitch. We are playing good football, but we can’t just score and that can also not be blamed on the strikers only because we play as a unit and if strikers cannot score then the rest of us should be able to take responsibility,” he said.
Ironically, the Nomads’ next assignment is against their age-old rivals Nyasa Big Bullets in the semi-finals of the Airtel Top 8 this Saturday at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe. As the Nomads sung blues against Lions, Bullets beat Masters Security 2-1 in Mulanje to move five points clear at the summit of the log table.
They have 21 points from nine games, having won six and drawn three.
