Nomads coach fate next week

Mighty Mukuru Wanderers say their coach Mark Harrison’s fate will be determined next week by the club’s board after assessing the target he was given.

The Briton was handed a target to win four out of five games, but he missed it, having won three, drawn one and lost one.

However, Nomads board secretary Chancy Gondwe said in an interview yesterday that despite missing the target, it is not automatic that the coach will be sacked.

He said: “I think based on the results, the coach deserves the benefit of the doubt and the board will assess him based on both the club’s performance and results.”

On his part, the former coach of Gor Mahia in Kenya, Township Rollers of Botswana, Highlanders and Caps United of Zimbabwe and Golden Arrows of South Africa said in an interview yesterday that he did not give a damn about the ultimatum.

Sounding ice-cool and at peace with himself, he said: “It’s never in my mind. I never took notice of it really.

“As a professional coach, you always want to win every game. Actually, I would have loved to win all the five games and not four.”

Harrison nevertheless, said the team has shown great improvement of late.

He said: “Very unfortunate that we lost to Kamuzu Barracks (KB) after three straight wins, but at the end of the day, it has to be appreciated that this club has been in doldrums for the past five years.

“So, we are in a transitional period whereby we are trying to change the club both on-and-off the pitch.

“We have been doing good lately and if patience is shown, the rewards will be gained. But it’s not going to happen overnight. We need to be realistic.”

On media reports linking him to Zimbabwe top-flight league giants Dynamos FC, Harrison said he does not know anything.

He said: “Having coached in Zim for many years, I am always being linked with clubs that side, but I have not heard anything from Dynamos. I know nothing about it. I’m just concentrating on my job.”

During the target period, the Nomads were held to a goalless draw by their arch-rivals FCB Nyasa Bullets before beating  Silver Strikers 1-0 to end their  unbeaten run.

The Lali Lubani Road outfit then went on to beat Blue Eagles by the same margin and Mafco FC 2-0.

Then they slumped to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of KB.

Outside the target window, the Nomads beat lower league side Zingwangwa United 4-1 in the FDH Bank Cup round of 16 before playing out a one-all draw against Red Lions on Wednesday.

Harrison was initially hired as a technical director on a two-year deal last year, but ended up doubling as coach following the removal of coach Alex Ngwira.

He guided the Nomads to win the Airtel Top 8 for the first time without conceding a goal.