LANKY Tsholotsho FC midfielder Joel Luphahla has refuted rumours that he has been fired by the strugglers for allegedly plotting against long-serving coach Lizwe Sweswe by selling team strategies to opponents.

Luphahla said he was still with Tsholotsho and would remain with his rural home team because “Tsholotsho is my soul and blood and it’s also a family project”.

“No one can get me out of the team because it’s in me. I’ve heard all these rumours, but I think when people don’t see you around they start speculating and spreading lies. I missed the last game because of a headache I picked up from our away game to ZPC Kariba,” said Luphahla.

He laughed off the allegations that he was planning a coup against Sweswe, who has been with the team since its formative years in the lower leagues.

“Maybe for starters, people need to know that I have no ambition whatsoever to be a coach at any level. My greatest ambition is to one day manage our senior national team. I’m more than content with being Tsholotsho manager and even Sweswe knows that and that’s all I want to do; to be a team manager and not a coach, it’s not in me. I know what I’m good at and what I’m not good at,” Luphahla said.

He said he will never abandon Tsholotsho, even in their most trying times.

“This is when the team probably needs us most and if I abandon it now because it’s not playing well, then who will stand by the team. Tsholotsho is my soul and I’m still with them, get it from me,” he said.

Some disgruntled Tsholotsho supporters have been angling for the ouster of Sweswe, who has been found wanting. The team is presently second from the bottom on the 16-team league table, with just eight points.

Sweswe’s assistant Bongani Mafu is believed to be in the United Kingdom for undisclosed reasons.

Luphahla is a former Highlanders and national team tear-away winger. He also spent four years in Cyprus with AEP Paphos before moving to South Africa where he played for Silver Stars, who later changed their name to Platinum Stars.