Nyirenda vouches for Chawapiwa's talent

Sekhukhune set to offload midfielder

Neville Khoza Sports Journalist
Talent Chawapiwai n the colours of previous club Amazulu is settling in well at Sekhukhune United.
Talent Chawapiwai n the colours of previous club Amazulu is settling in well at Sekhukhune United.
Image: Anesh Debiky

Not so long ago, Talent Chawapiwa had a promising career at Baroka, which caught the eyes of many.

But that promising career seems to be in the decline as he is set to be offloaded by Sekhukhune United just six months into his contract.

It would be the second time that Chawapiwa sees his contract terminated in a space of a year after his relationship with AmaZulu was also ended prematurely.

Former coach Wedson Nyirenda admitted that the Zimbabwean international has dropped his levels of performance and advised him to refocus on his career.

“I think for him, he has to refocus on himself because there are some worries as he has been to three clubs now in a very short time,” Nyirenda told Sowetan yesterday.

“He must just put his foot down and let him work hard on things that he is not doing well at. The best thing for him is to sit with the coach  [MacDonald Makhubedu] and speak honestly to him and check where he is not doing well and what he should work on.

“Maybe there are bad things he is doing outside the pitch and the coach must explain to him where he must improve.

“I don’t know what happened at AmaZulu. I saw him play a few games and for me, he played well, but I’m also in shock for a player of Talent's calibre to leave Sekhukhune so soon. I thought they would hold on to him.”

It was under the guidance of Nyirenda where the 29-year-old enjoyed his best form at Baroka in 2018. A move to AmaZulu in 2019 saw him struggle for game-time before joining Sekhukhune last year, where he only made eight appearances before the Africa Cup of Nations recess.

Nyirenda feels other coaches may be failing to get the best out of the midfielder.

“Let me speak to myself and no other coaches. The way I do it is to understand each player’s abilities,” he said.

“I don’t only understand the player on the pitch. I go deeper into social life outside football. Outside the pitch, I will always be harder on the players too.

“A player won’t give you anything when he is having issues. I take the players like my own children.

“He should reflect and he must start looking at himself where he is going wrong. I have no doubt the young man will bounce back. He will rise again. This is just a phase.”

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