Tadious Manyepo

Zimpapers Sports Hub

KELVIN KAINDU is carrying a huge responsibility on his shoulders.

Straight from scripting an intriguing piece after going for 11 games without tasting defeat as he helped Dynamos survive relegation last season, the Zambian gaffer finds himself having to tick even more difficult boxes in Kwekwe.Zimpapers publication archive

Kaindu elected to join Premiership newcomers Hardrock after the expiry of his short-term contract with the Glamour Boys last December.

He left a huge impression in the capital after not only saving DeMbare from relegation that looked so certain before his arrival but also helping them defend the Chibuku Super Cup for the third time.

The former Highlanders gaffer now finds himself at the helm of a monied Premiership debutants who have the duty to bring the long-lost football vibe to this Midlands town.

It has been around two decades since Kwekwe had a Premier Soccer League team playing their games in the town.

Only last year and after a long wait, residents got to witness the end of the drought when Kwekwe United were promoted into the top-flight.

But without conviction and purpose, the club staged their home games in Gweru and they were so poor in both public relations and performance in the field of play.

Those in Kwekwe never felt like the team hailed from their town, and their poor performance eventually saw them getting relegated.

But Hardrock represents something different. They have retained the feel and have made the community share the emotion with them.

They almost always drew a full house at Baghdad where they hosted their games during their campaign in the Central Region Soccer League.

Now they are moving to easily the most beautiful stadium in the country right now, built by the club owner Shepherd Chahwanda.

And it is Kaindu who is responsible for making sure that Kwekwe gets to really feel that Premiership football is back in town long after the demise of Lancashire Steel, Ziscosteel and Kwekwe Cables.

He hasn’t signed box-office players in the mould of Khama Billiat or Knowledge Musona, who are both at Scottland but he has laid his hands on some good ones who include the reigning Castle Soccer Star of the Year Washington Navaya, Donald Mudadi, Boid Mutukure and Warriors goalkeeper Martin Mapisa.

“Yeah, we want to work very hard so that we bring the fans to the stadium, looking at the infrastructure that we have, we want to see an atmosphere where our fans are coming in numbers to support the team,” said Kaindu.

“We’re happy to see the way Simba Bhora was able to attract the fans at their home ground when they started. There is that passion that the fans bring when the stadium is full. “This is what we anticipate, and hopefully this is what we’ll be saying in most of the games that will be played. And we just hope that with the competition that will be there, there will be a lot of entertainment for the fans.

“I think we will just try as much as possible so that the fans get what they deserve from us.”

There is a feeling that Hardrock will be gunning for the league title and emulate fellow moneybags Scottland who won the championship on their debut last year.

Kaindu knows the geography and terrain of local football having also seen action with How Mine, Triangle, High-landers and Dynamos over the past 13 years.

While he isn’t ruling out his team, Kaindu has acknowledged the stiff competition the league will have this coming season.

“I feel this is going to be a very competitive season looking at how much teams have shown in terms of preparation. We have seen that a number of teams have travelled outside the country for their pre-season,” added Kaindu.

“We have seen teams that are also local that are able to do the pre-season well. We’ve seen a number of players moving to different teams, and not only players but I’ve also seen a number of coaches that have moved from, I don’t know, maybe they should be nine or 10.

“That shows that most teams now want to compete in the league, and it’s going to be competitive, but the best thing is, it also makes the nation improve when there’s competition in the local league.”