Anchors Songwe Border United will this afternoon join the now-defunct Max Bullets as the worst performers in the TNM Super League unless they beat visitors Mafco FC at Karonga Stadium.
Bullets went 14 games without registering a win in the 2016 season, the poorest run no other team has recorded since TNM started bankrolling the league 21 years ago.
Songwe lie at the bottom of the 16-team log-table without tasting victory in 13 outings. They have only a single point, having lost 12 games and drawn once.
The Karonga-based outfit are seven points behind fellow strugglers 15th placed Mzuzu City Hammers, who have played a game less, and 31 points adrift leaders Mighty Wanderers.
To make matters worse, they have scored only four goals but have conceded 39 to have a negative 35 goal difference.
But why is the team struggling and what will they do to avoid relegation?
Songwe general secretary Palisha Swira attributed their woes to over-reliance on players that had no Super League experience.
“We made a mistake when we refused to beef-up our squad with experienced players after being promoted. We really regret this because the players we have hardly stand the heat in the elite league,” he said.
Swira said they plan to restructure the team as they will beef up the squad with at least eight players that have Super League in the second round.
Songwe coach Christopher Nyambose, who has so far registered six losses and a draw since his appointment two months ago, said the club is full of talented players but are not matured enough.
However, he said with proper restructuring, the team will meet its target of collecting over 20 points when the season concludes in December.
“Most players are after showing off their skills forgetting their most important mission of winning games. We tend to concede silly goals in the opening and dying minutes of our matches and that is a serious problem. I am happy that the club has given me the freedom of adding experienced player to the squad,” he said.
Nyambose added that the club cannot attribute their struggles to financial hiccups because the welfare of both the players and technical staff is top-notch.
In contrast, fellow newly-promoted side Ekhaya FC have started their league campaign strongly as they were third on the standings.
FCB Nyasa Bullets are second on 27 points after 11 games.
Ekhaya FC chief executive officer Thando Mhango attributed their success to heavy investment in the squad .
Karonga United and Chitipa United continue to experience financial difficulties but, with strategic investment in the squad by ensuring proper mixture of rising stars and old-guards, they survive relegation and even fight for top eight spots.
