Eddie Chikamhi
Senior Sports Reporter
LLOYD Chitembwe has given his players two days’ rest to prepare for the duel against Dynamos in a Chibuku Super Cup semi-final at the National Sports Stadium this Sunday.
The coach gave his players an extra day of rest so that they recharge their batteries for the upcoming Harare Derby showdown.
“Like I said, we have had a very hectic period. We have been travelling, we have been playing matches and training; trying to balance up was always never going to be easy.
“You know, we were playing week in and week out. So, it’s not going to be easy. Some of these things are signs of fatigue.
“This is the nature of this job and the players understand that and it’s up to us to try and work on it; give them enough rest before an important game that’s coming up against Dynamos.
“We will try and give them that much time so that they regenerate their bodies and hopefully get a sense of freshness, come Sunday next week,” said Chitembwe.
CAPS United reached the semi-finals of the Chibuku Super Cup after edging Highlanders in a penalty shootout at Barbourfields at the beginning of the month.
“It’s a very important game but I think the most important thing is to give these boys a break.
“We are giving them two days’ break and we will resume our training on Wednesday (tomorrow) so that, at least, they can fully recover from the hectic load that they have gone through during the last four weeks.
“I think it’s well-deserved and I am sure by the time we play Dynamos there will be some freshness within the team.”
Makepekepe have made some amends for the dip in form during the course of the season which saw them spending the better part in the bottom half.
“We would want to continue focusing on the league because we have had a terrible season. It’s important for us to try and maximise from the games that are remaining.
“The focus is also on the Chibuku Super Cup, to try and do as well as we expect ourselves to do so that we can at least have a decent season.
“Anything less than that then it will be very disappointing for us. We know that capacity is there, the qualities are there. We can go on then to achieve the things that we really want to achieve,” said Chitembwe.
Chibuku Super Cup fixtures:
Saturday: Black Rhinos v Ngezi Platinum Stars (Bata)
Sunday: Dynamos v CAPS United (NSS)