• CHIPOLOPOLO midfielder Chisamba Lungu going through the paces during yesterday’s morning training session at Heroes National Stadium in Lusaka. Picture by GRACE CHAILE

By SANDRA MWILA –

CHIPOLOPOLO midfielder Chisamba Lungu says the onus of qualifying to the Morocco 2015 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) lies with the players and not necessarily with the coach.
Lungu said in an interview after yesterday’s morning training session at the Heroes National Stadium that the team still had a chance of qualifying for the AFCON final and that the team needs to target maximum points from the four remaining games.
The FC Ural player said there was a lot of negative talk about coach Honour Janza but that the responsibility of qualifying for the continental showpiece was dependant on the players.
“At the moment there is a lot of negative talk on coach Honour Janza but I feel the responsibility of qualifying for the Africa Cup finals in Morocco depends on us the players,” Lungu said.
He said calls by some fans to have Janza removed following the Chipolopolo poor start in the 2015 AFCON qualifiers were in bad faith.
“There is too much negativity on our coach, the best we can do as players is close our ears and concentrate on delivering good results,” he said.
Lungu said Janza had been with the team for a long time even before he succeeded Patrice Beaumelle and he deserved to be given a chance as coach.
“Problems arise and gravitate towards solutions and the solution of us qualifying depends on us the players that do the actual work on the field of play,” he said.
Lungu said he was positive that the Chipolopolo would collect six points off Niger when the two sides clash on October 11 in Niamey and four days later at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola.
The Russian-based midfielder also hailed the local players for their zeal and commitment towards training ahead of the Niger games.
“I trained with the players yesterday (Thursday) and today (Friday), trust me there is competition in camp and us the foreign based players will have to fight for our positions.
Football has nothing to do with whether you are a local or foreign based players, it’s about what you put in when training and I can assure you the locals are ready for the competition,” Lungu said.
Meanwhile, Janza has hinted on making changes to the squad ahead of the two must win matches against Niger saying there were no personal to holder positions in the Chipolopolo.
Janza, who has refused to release local players to feature in their sides in today’s league matches, said there was limited time to break camp and will have to focus on the AFCON qualifier against Niger.
“This time around selection will not be automatic, both local and foreign based players that will be selected based on their performances at their clubs,” Janza said.
Janza said there was no ownership of positions and each position had a local and foreign based competing for positions.
“When we call the locals we just don’t pick we select those that are making an impact at their clubs and have something to offer as the National team,” Janza said.
Zambia drew her opening game 0-0 against Mozambique before losing 2-1 away to Cape Verde, who lead the log on six points while Chipolopolo are on one point. Mozambique is second in Group F on two points while Niger has also got one point.