Sports Reporter
JAIROS Tapera’s future as Manica Diamonds coach is hanging in the balance after their third defeat in four Castle Lager Premier Soccer League matches on Monday.
He could be sacked at Sakubva, the same stadium where Dynamos coach, Genesis “Kaka” Mangombe, saved his job with a victory over Bikita Minerals.
Manica Diamonds lost 0-1 at Ngezi Platinum to stay bottom of the league, with one point from a possible 12.
They already trail joint leaders FC Platinum and Highlanders by nine points.
For a team, touted as one of the title favourites after finishing second last season, Manica Diamonds currently look clueless despite securing the use of Sakubva for their home matches this season.
Tapera now finds himself in a must-win tie against Chicken Inn this weekend.
The leadership at Manica Diamonds is understood to be losing patience and might wield the axe if the Gem Boys fail to win their next match.
“The executive is not happy with the results that the team has had so far.
“His job is now on the line and the possibility of him being fired is now high if he loses the next home match against Chicken Inn this weekend,” said a source.
After a third defeat in four matches, Tapera sounded as if he was aware of the fate that awaits him.
“Football is always like that, you do not have to fear, you need to push and do whatever you can.
“If you are a coach the next thing is to move whether you like it or not.
“I can tell that I am a seasoned coach, I know about football and all these things and it might be a setback but you never know what will happen tomorrow,” said Tapera.
Tapera has attributed his team’s string of poor results to a number of factors, which include failure to convert the chances they have been creating.
“As a team we need to improve on defending set-pieces, because three-quarters of the goals that we have conceded have all come from set-pieces, corner-kicks and free-kicks and we also need to improve on our conversion.
“We need to go back and start everything,” said Tapera.