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Mandla Mpofu

Lovemore Dube Sports Editor
MANDLA Mpofu says the future for Bantu Rovers is bright and believes the young crop of players are destined for greater heights. Bantu Rovers were relegated at the end of the season after the team’s veterans and young players failed to wage a strong bid to stay afloat.

“We’re down but not out of the game. There’s a bright future lying ahead for Bantu Rovers. It’s a young team with so much promise,” said Mpofu.

Mpofu said the season had been competitive and that the boys had benefitted from the exposure. The coach said it was unfortunate that at times they had lost games that they had dominated with the boys applying themselves well.

“There were games we were on top of the situation only luck to elude us. With a bit of it we could have survived relegation. At times as a coach you shed a tear when you see and leave the field convinced that the boys raised the bar but just could not get the ball behind the line.

“The youngsters were able to match their more illustrious opponents in the league in a number of matches something that gives us hope that there’s a future for Bantu Rovers,” said Mpofu.

Success he said was not an event but a process that people should invest in.

“It has been good to have a director like Methembe Ndlovu and management that believes in juniors. We decided to bite the bullet but in the long run these boys will rule the roost because we have invested all we can in them so that they learn and start playing Premiership football at an early age so that they have the prime of their careers playing abroad.

“Patience is a virtue that is worth investing in and when the process starts paying a dividend, it would be good for the club and the country. At Bantu Rovers we’re always so eager to produce a product that the world would want to buy,” said Mpofu whose club has had Kudakwashe Mahachi and Marvelous Nakamba hogging the limelight beyond our borders.

He challenged the players to take a rest from the game and return recharged in January ahead of what will be a gruelling Southern Region Division One campaign.

Young Nqobizitha Masuku, Tafadzwa Kutinyu and sensational Teenage Hadebe were among the most outstanding players at the club and received rave reviews from other coaches and the media.

Mpofu said despite a number of jobs available on the market, he was still a Bantu Rovers coach.