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Ricky Zililo Senior Sports Reporter
KELVIN Kaindu yesterday rubbished claims that he has quit the Highlanders FC coaching job following the weekend’s 1-3 defeat to ZPC Kariba in a Premiership game on Sunday.The loss to electricity generators angered Bosso fans who were baying for Kaindu’s blood and voiced their fury by throwing missiles on the field.

Both sets of teams — Highlanders and ZPC Kariba  — had to huddle in the centre circle before police used teargas to disperse the fans and pave way for teams to make their way to dressing rooms.

Rumours about Kaindu quitting started after his more than an hour stay in the dressing room where he reportedly told his charges that

“it has been good” working with them.

Yesterday afternoon the Zambian expatriate emerged from a meeting with the Highlanders executive and quashed rumours that he had stepped down.

“It’s not true that I have stepped down because I am here preparing for the next game,” said Kaindu.

“It’s unfortunate that we lost to ZPC Kariba and that the championship gap has widened which makes it a bit difficult to close. However, there are still six matches to play and we are not giving up at all, we will fight till the end.”

Bosso’s title aspirations suffered a heavy blow as they were left trailing table toppers Dynamos by seven points with just six matches before the season ends.

A near miracle is what Highlanders are hoping for to claim the championship against a DeMbare side who played like true champions with their never-die spirit grabbing a late winner against Shabanie Mine at Rufaro Stadium.

Of late, Highlanders’ performance has been uninspiring and with their strikers failing to make attempts at goal.

It is their humdrum display that irks their supporters.

Kaindu called for fans to rally behind his side as he is confident that they will weather the storm.

“Supporters are people who make noise which is good or bad. We have made them happy and made them cry at times but they mustn’t react the way that they did. That kind of behaviour is not good at all because it psychologically saps the players. I think now this is a stage where we should be united and the players now have to build character,” said Kaindu.

Highlanders’ chief executive officer Ndumiso Gumede took a swipe at hooligans and said their meeting was “a routine weekly review meeting.”

“The review meeting went reasonably well with emotions having had settled. Had we met yesterday, we would have had a different outcome,” Gumede said.

Last week Bosso made the Premier League title a target for the Zambian coach and  with Highlanders struggling for form — signals an impending end to his three-year reign at the club during which the league title has eluded him.

Highlanders are left with tricky games starting with an away visit to Caps United who are also vying for the league championship, another road trip to Hwange in between meetings with Chicken Inn (home), Chiredzi FC (home), Shabanie Mine (away) before wrapping their campaign with a home assignment against Chapungu.

Meanwhile, ZPC Kariba manager Patson Ndabambi said they are hoping that Tawanda Nyamandwe and Tawanda Munyanduri who were injured during the chaos at Hartsfield will recover during the NetOne OneWallet final break.

He said their championship hopes will not be affected by Sunday’s incidents.

“It disturbs us when we are playing our hearts out and fans decide to express their anger through other means. We have no issues with Highlanders but I would like to think that this was coming for Bosso because they have not been playing well and we were just caught in crossfire. We are not at all intimidated by the incidents in Bulawayo and we will continue working hard as we fight for the championship,” said Ndabambi.

Remaining Top 5 Castle Lager Premier League Fixtures

Week 25: Caps United v Highlanders, Buffaloes v Dynamos, ZPC Kariba v Triangle United, Hwange v How Mine
Week 26: Dynamos v Chapungu, Highlanders v Chicken Inn, FC Platinum v ZPC Kariba, Black Rhinos v Hwange, Triangle v Caps United
Week 27: Hwange v Highlanders, Caps United v FC Platinum, Harare City v Dynamos, ZPC Kariba v Buffaloes
Week 28: Highlanders v Chiredzi, Dynamos v Bantu Rovers, Harare City v ZPC Kariba, Buffaloes v Caps United, Triangle v Hwange
Week 29: Shabanie Mine v Highlanders, Hwange v FC Platinum, Caps United v Harare City, ZPC Kariba v Dynamos
Week 30: Dynamos v How Mine, Buffaloes v Hwange, ZPC Kariba v Caps United, Highlanders v Chapungu

Weekend Premier League Results

Saturday: How Mine 1-1 Chicken Inn, Black Rhinos 0-1 Caps United, FC Platinum 2-1 Buffaloes, Chapungu v Chiredzi (not played)
Sunday: Highlanders 1-3 ZPC Kariba, Dynamos 1-0 Shabanie Mine, Triangle 1-2 Harare City
Yesterday: Bantu Rovers 0-0 Hwange