Unrealistic targets?

National Football Coaches Association (NFCA) says it anticipates massive loss of jobs for coaches at the end of the 2024 football season due unrealistic targets set by TNM Super League clubs.

Eleven TNM Super League clubs have appointed new coaches and set targets of winning at least the league as well as either the FDH Bank Cup, the Airtel Top 8 or the Castel Challenge Cup.

Mighty Mukuru Wanderers’ Burundian tactician Ramadhan Nsanzurwimo, Silver Strikers’ Peter Mponda, Creck Sporting FC’s McDonald Mtetemera, Mighty Wakawaka Tigers gaffer Leo Mpulula, Bangwe All Stars mentor Christopher Nyambose, Andrew Bunya for Dedza Dynamos, Fomo FC’s Gilbert Chirwa, Baka City’s Oscar Kaunda and the others will all fight for these four domestic competitions.

NFCA chairperson Aubrey Nankhuni said it is impossible for all the coaches to meet the set targets.

He said: “Last season, Pieter de Jongh and Mark Harrison were also given such targets in their first year with Silver and Wanderers and they lost their jobs after failing.

“This season it will even be worse. We anticipate more coaches to lose their jobs at the end of the season because we have four competitions against 16 teams.”

However, Nankhuni said the clubs are not the only ones to blame for the situation as the coaches accept to work under such conditions.

He said: “The problem is also with the coaches. They are taken up by the offers they get and rush to sign the contracts despite our office advising them to contact our legal counsel for advice before doing so.

“If they had consulted us, we could have advised them to negotiate for realistic targets. Sadly, the coaches are only looking at their mouthwatering salaries and benefits instead of thinking of whether the targets can be achieved.”

Football analyst Patrick Zgambo said clubs have taken advantage of the coach’s desperation for jobs.

He said: “In the long run, the clubs are the losers. This kind of operating just shows how short-sighted  and unpragmatic our football clubs are. A one-year contract for a coach you are bringing in as a stop gap makes sense, but when you are looking at a long-term sustainable project where you want long-term results and success, you have  to address the ethos and culture of the club as a coach.

“No one under this sun gets that done sustainably in 12 months. Success is not a matter of flipping a switch. It’s a pressure cooker job. Coaches need reasonable time to acclimatise to their environment and effect their plans on the team without unrealistic targets which in the end are there to be used as ropes for a coach to hang themselves and the cycle starts all over again.”

“Most of these teams have problems that need open heart surgery whose recovery can only take a minimum three seasons and they expect a quick fix in a six-month season? It’s ridiculous.”

Another football analyst Raymond Siyaya said the targets only succeed in putting coaches under pressure.

He said: “It will only be a bit of a fluke for it to happen. Firstly, these are teams that have already interfered with technical panel decisions by signing and firing players without the approval of these coaches.

“There is a high chance that the new signings may not be to the coach’s liking. Secondly, it’s not easy for any new coach’s tactical philosophy to hit the ground running.  

“Coaches need a bit of time to understand their personnel and see when, where and how to use their players. Similarly, players also need time to buy into the new tactics and adapt to the new coach’s demands.

“For instance, Jurgen Klopp made Liverpool FC champions of England, Europe and the world within five years of his appointment at Anfield in October 2015. Similarly with Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, it took at least two seasons for him to win the league.”

On his part Silver coach Mponda said he was ready for the challenge.

“It is a huge challenge, but worth undertaking,” he said.

Mtetemera on the other hand, said he is not scared of targets.

He said: “Targets are set to motivate you and not to scare you so that you work towards a purpose. They are key performance indicators. You cannot just work without them.

“I always ensure that wherever I go, I leave a mark. This time it will not be different. I will leave a mark at Creck Sporting Club.”