‘Mtawali, Ramadhan not under any pressure’

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Nswazirimo Ramadhan

They may have a tall order in their clash against Zimbabwe on June 5 in the Afcon qualifiers but Malawi national football team coaches Ernest Mtawali and Nswazirimo Ramadhan say they are not under any pressure.

The FA has reportedly cautioned the mentors about the performance of the 2015 Cosafa Cup plate winners.

This is in line with the poor run of form that have marred the Flames’ campaign in the Afcon race and ahead of the Cosafa cup which throws off in just a little over a week’s time.

Nswazirimo Ramadhan
Nswazirimo Ramadhan : Give us time.

But Ramadhan says the team has ganged up ahead of the Zimbabwe match on Sunday and that the feared reports of pressure on them has not even had any contribution on the team.

‘‘The team and us are judged by the performance of the team. We are not under any pressure and not in fear of our jobs,’’ said Ramadhan.

He further argued that while there are hefty expectations from the fans, there is also need for them to be given time to do their job which he says also involves ‘building a team’.

Ramadhan refused to be drawn to comment on whether a bad result for the team would actually mean that the coaches have failed in their duties.

‘’You see, we as coaches, we are judged by the results that the team produces. Ernest (Mtawali) and I are not under pressure. We need to be given time,’’ Ramadhan told the media after Carlsberg Malawi gave out MK50 Million to the team for use at the Cosafa Cup in Namibia from June 10th.

The Burundian maintained that the Flames will fight lungs out in Zimbabwe and has since asked Malawians to pray for the team.

‘’Please we need your prayers,’’ he said.

Flames
The Flames train ahead of the Zimbabwe match in Blantyre.

The Flames are yet to register a win in the 2017 African Cup of Nations Group L qualifying matches but if they are to keep their dreams of making it to Gabon, they must beat Zimbabwe on Sunday.

The team leaves for Harare on Friday for the clash on Sunday before proceeding to Namibia for the Cosafa tournament.

Zimbabwe lead Group L with eight points and can qualify for the biennial soccer showcase if they beat Malawi at home and Guinea fails to beat Swaziland.

Both Swaziland and Guinea are tied on five points each with Malawi at the foot of the table with two points.