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yesterday – “It’s do-or-die for us now.”
The man, who has nurtured a lot of the players who have transformed themselves to play for their nation, said Zimbabwe had to seize the moment now or see their World Cup dreams fade into a nightmare.
Zimbabwe take on Sri Lanka at the Pallekele International Stadium in Kandy tomorrow, badly needing a win, to put their 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup campaign back on track.
And Mangongo issued the battle cry, as his team faces a tough four-day period, where they will also play Pakistan at the same venue on Monday.
“It’s time to separate the men from the boys,” said Mangongo.
“It’s do-or-die for us now and we believe we still have a big shout in this tournament.
“We believe we can still cross the River Jordan and we have the players who can compete in these two big games.”
Mangongo said his team had no reason to fail to make a big impact at this World Cup.
“We had very good preparations in Dubai and we remain confident that we can get a result or two in the next two games and it changes everything,” said Mangongo.
“We have taken a lot of comfort from the way that the likes of Ireland and Canada have performed against the established nations and we believe that we can do even better.
“Canada played very well against Pakistan and had them on the ropes in their match and that has given us confidence too that we can do better than that.”
Mangongo said despite the 10-wicket mauling at the hands of New Zealand, in their last match, his boys were focused on the next two big matches.
“We have played Sri Lanka a number of times and we know what to expect from them and we have been working on that,” said Mangongo.
“We know what Pakistan can offer, too, and they are a very world-class team but they can also be vulnerable when you put them under pressure as shown by the Canadians and we want to exploit that.
“We are really focused on the next two games because we believe that our World Cup campaign will now be defined and the time has come for everyone to take their game a step higher.”
The reality is simple for Zimbabwe.
A win against Sri Lanka tomorrow, as hard as it feels to even write about it, is not an impossible task and will push their World Cup campaign back on track.
But to do that, the Zimbabweans will have to come out of their shell and play their game.
So far in this tournament, most of their batsmen have frozen, seemingly overwhelmed by the challenge that comes with playing at the World Cup.
The batting top-order, crucially, has failed to find the runs and the consistency needed to boost the cause for this team and, in those ruins, the failings of opener Charles Coventry have been exposed.
But to single him out would be unfair because it would give the impression that the rest of the guys have been brilliant.
Tatenda Taibu, whose 98 against Canada was the highest score for the Zimbabweans at this World Cup, said rather than being the failed cause of an individual, the team was in this position because many key players haven’t come to the party.
The wicket-keeper/batsman was even critical of his own performance, saying that he has not yet taken his game to the level that he wants, and rather than discuss issues related to other players, he said he would concentrate on improving his game.
Mangongo rightly believes that there isn’t need to doubt the talent in his team.
Doing so, especially at this crucial moment, would be suicidal.
What is clear is that the Zimbabweans simply have to believe in their abilities and express themselves better, especially when it comes to batting, than they have done so far.
Against Sri Lanka it would be tough but, refreshingly for the Zimbabweans, they needed a very tough Australian side to show the bright side of their game in Ahmedabad.
While their performance against Canada was expected, it was their no-show against New Zealand that was disappointing.
If they let the humiliation they suffered at the hands of the Black Caps stalk them, then the Zimbabweans will be in serious trouble against a Sri Lanka side that also has to work very hard to seal its place in the Super Eight.
But if the Zimbabweans free themselves from their demons, and field and bowl as well as they did against Australia, then they have a good chance tomorrow.
The problem with this Zimbabwean team is that you are never so sure about which side will emerge come match day.
Will it be the competitive side that cornered Australia for those good 10 overs and made it difficult for the champions for about 47 overs, or the side that folded meekly against the Black Caps in a game they were expected to compete favourably?
Mangongo believes the time has come for his players to show their true colours beginning with the game against Sri Lanka.
They have little choice, don’t they?
Either they swim or they sink.