Coaches body rallies behind Mtawali

National Football Coaches Association (NFCA) is rallying behind Flames coach Ernest Mtawali ahead of the Cosafa Castle Cup despite poor showing in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) campaign.

NFCA general secretary Benjamin Kumwenda said in an interview on Wednesday that at this point in time it is important to give all the support to Mtawali and his backroom staff so as to motivate the players to deliver.

“We can’t run away from the fact that the Africa Cup of Nations campaign has been disastrous. We flopped as a country, but as of now it is not fair to focus on negativity. We need to give the coaching staff all our support,” he said.

Kumwenda said Mtawali missed the plot in the Afcon because he has experimented too much since he took over the reigns from Young Chimodzi.

“Since he took over, he had the opportunity to come up with a permanent squad but it never happened. It seems every day he is building a new team.

“Our advice to him is that he should have a first team which he can build on,” he said.

Mtawali, who is currently with the team in Namibia for the Cosafa Castle Cup, could not be reached for comment, but he was quoted by MBC Radio 2 earlier this week as saying the frequent changes are part of an attempt to find the right combinations. n