THE Castle Lager championship winning coach Lloyd Chitembwe admitted that he didn’t achieve success alone.

Chitembwe paid tribute to his assistants Mark Mathe and Tostao Kwashi who worked under him since joining the Green Machine in September last season.

Mark Harrison, who had signed a three-year contract with Makepekepe at the beginning of the 2015 season, sensationally quit the Harare football giants after only 13 matches in charge and Mathe was appointed to take over in June.

On September 1 last year, Chitembwe was appointed head coach and was to be assisted by Mathe and Kwashi.

Chitembwe was given a top four target to achieve in the remaining nine matches but Makepekepe finished fifth after Chicken Inn, Dynamos, FC Platinum and Triangle.

This season, without proper resources, Chitembwe led the club, on his second coming, to the championship, ending an 11-year period without silverware.

“It's difficult to put into words.

“The story of where this team has come from to get to this point is amazing.

“I must pay tribute to my assistants Mathe and Kwashi. It was not all rosy and sweet throughout the season but we managed to achieve this together.

“Football is a collective job. If one side suffers, then the other part won’t work out,” he said after receiving the coach of the year award.

“I think the lads deserve great credit for the way they have taken it in their stride, stayed focused and kept delivering results.

“We have been so consistent and just determined not to let the opportunity pass us by. We deserve this. There are times when pressure was mounting ahead of the end of the season but we clung together,” Chitembwe added.

Chitembwe also wrote an incredible piece of history this season after completing a 15-match unbeaten home run.

He was also voted coach of the month for October, never lost a league match at the National Sports Stadium since he took over as head coach in September last year.

He continued,” They (Mathe and Kwashi) also had their strengths in various departments and that complimented everything I did. Kwashi has been in the system as a player and his commitment is second to none.

“Mathe would go all the way to take other players for extra training among other important tasks delegated to him. There are times when I would miss training sessions due to various reasons but they stood by me. Their input was diverse. I won’t take all the glory, yes I am the coach of the year but my assistant played a part in everything we achieved. On the bench, we would argue who is supposed to come in and who needs to be substituted. It was teamwork.”