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Paul MacAndrew

Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
THE rearranged Castle Lager Premier Soccer League fixture between How Mine and Dynamos set for Barbourfields Stadium tomorrow hangs in balance, as the gold miners’ players are on strike over wage arrears.

Players are owed three months’ salaries, signing on fees and winning bonuses.

This is the second time within a month that How Mine players have resorted to industrial action in a bid to force management to pay them.

How Mine lost 1-2 at home to title contenders Ngezi Platinum Stars on August 5 in a match they fulfilled only after a single training session following strike action.

Morale has hit rock bottom at a side that had been lumped among title contenders in the first half of the season.

So bad are things at the gold miners that they have now gone for four consecutive league games without a win. Their last victory was a 3-1 win over champions Caps United in Harare on July 19.

That win was followed by a 0-0 home draw against ZPC Kariba and 1-1 stalemate with Tsholotsho FC in Beitbridge. They went on to lose to Ngezi before settling for a goalless draw with Chapungu in Gweru.

Sources said club officials were making frantic efforts to engage players “one by one” in desperate efforts to assemble a team to face Dynamos tomorrow.

Players were adamant yesterday that they would not fulfil the fixture unless they are paid their outstanding dues.

“We haven’t trained this week. The last time we didn’t go for training ahead of the Ngezi game, we told them that we didn’t have transport money and the club sent a bus to pick players from their residences. This time around the guys have decided not to fall into the same trap as before when they tricked us into playing by promising to pay us after the Chapungu match, which they didn’t. Unless something happens tomorrow (today), we’re not going into camp,” said one senior player.

Another player blasted chairman Paul MacAndrew, describing him as “arrogant and full of promises and lies”.

“That chairman (MacAndrew) is the one who makes things worse because he comes to the newspapers and lies that things are normal yet he knows that they haven’t paid us our signing-on fees, three months’ salaries and winning bonuses. We haven’t received any bonus for the points collected up to Week 21. We’re supposed to get $300 as winning bonuses and $150 for a draw.

“The chairman is full of lies and is not ashamed to lie to newspapers. Imagine the trouble he causes for us and our landlords as well as wives who read that we’ve been paid yet that is not the case. Even when we try to engage him, he becomes aggressive and is arrogant. Maybe if he tells us the truth, we would understand, but right now he is making things bad,” the player said.

How Mine are sixth on the league table with 34 points from nine wins and seven draws.

This means players that made up those match day squads are each owed $3 750 in bonuses.

MacAndrew declined to comment and dropped his phone when reached by Chronicle Sport for comment last night.

“Oh, it’s you. Right now I’m busy,” MacAndrew said, before dropping his phone.

@ZililoR