TSHOLOTSHO FC coach Lizwe Sweswe is confident his team will still be playing in the topflight league next season despite being currently haunted by relegation.

Iziqholo zeZhwane are second from the bottom on the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League table with only three matches left. They sit on 23 points, two behind Mutare City Rovers.
Sweswe has tough assignments ahead of him in the relegation survival fight with the first against in-form title contenders Highlanders at Barbourfields Stadium. They will then face Bulawayo City before ending the season against another title contender FC Platinum.

“It’s still game on and I am optimistic we will still be in the topflight. We are not thinking about being chopped right now because we still have three matches to play. Our remaining fixtures are just like any other match to us and we are going to play our normal game even though two of the teams are title contenders. Pressure will be mounting on the big teams, as they will be trying very hard not to falter against a minor team. The remaining games are our ticket to remain in the topflight,” said Sweswe.

Following a good debut season in 2015, Sweswe attributed his team’s poor performances to financial challenges and a player exodus.

“I believe that every player’s performance is motivated by the amount of money they get. As a club, we faced financial challenges which affected our performance. We also had five players joining teams in Botswana and South Africa for greener pastures in mid-season, forcing us to build the team from scratch.

“We failed to get the best players because if you need to pay well to get quality players. It’s even hard to produce good results if the players are not motivated. As a coach, you have to first deal with the boys psychologically, be their advisor and father figure, which can be easily done with money. What I have learnt so far in the Premiership is that a team’s performance is determined by the funding it gets,” Sweswe said.

Tsholotsho beat Chapungu 2-1 last Saturday and Sweswe said that result could be the turning point in their relegation fight.

Tsholotsho next fixtures:
Highlanders (away)
Bulawayo City (home)
FC Platinum (home).

@khumzallen