Newly appointed Chapungu Football Club coach Tendai Chikuni is targeting a top eight finish in the 2017 Premier Soccer League competition.

Chikuni won the Central Region Division One League title with Shabanie Mine but was lured to Gweru where he has now replaced John Nyikadzino who quit Chapungu at the end of last season.

Nyikadzino led Chapungu to a disappointing 13th in the 2016 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League race.

And Chikuni, who was unveiled on Thursday afternoon at Thornhill Airbase in Gweru, knows the daunting task ahead of him but believes he can better Nyikadzino’s achievements.

“I was lured to Chapungu by the desire for a new challenge after winning the Central Soccer League championship with Shabanie Mine last season.

“I know there is a lot of work that needs to be done but with team work and effort we can achieve a top eight finish at the end of the season,” said Chikuni.

“I will start by assessing all the players including those who were on loan last season so that we build a stronger team. I am very much confident that we are going to do well this season and continue building from there in the years to come.”

Chapungu chairman Fungai Makhuyana said they settled for Chikuni because of his ‘attractive’ curriculum vitae which gave him an edge over other aspiring candidates.

“We had a large pool of candidates to choose from but at the end we chose Chikuni because he impressed us because of his experience and knowledge of football.

“He has travelled extensively in the region and also coached locally making him the right candidate to suit our ambitions,” said Makhuyana.

Chikuni was also twice a caretaker coach at FC Platinum in 2012 and 2013 following the departure of Rahman Gumbo and Tenant Chilumba respectively.

He will be assisted at Chapungu by former Waru Waru midfielder Clement Mugari who was also assistant to Nyikadzino last season.

Former goalkeeper’s coach Brighton Muchambo returns to the technical team in the same capacity after years in the wilderness which also saw him coach at now defunct Hardbody.