By NDINAWE SIMPELWE –

. LWANDAMINA

ZESCO United coach George Lwandamina says he will not use shortcuts to please critics who feel his side is not ready for the 2015 season.
And skipper Jacob Banda has returned to the team which is expected to leave this afternoon for Juba, South Sudan, for the CAF 2016 Champions League return leg against Al Ghazal after missing the first leg through suspension.
Lwandamina, in reacting to critics who said his side was not performing well after losing the Samuel ‘Zoom’ Ndhlovu Charity Shield semi-final against Power Dynamos, said the defeat did not mean Zesco was not ready for the new season.
He reminded his critics that the teams were just coming back from the off-season and were not fully back to their best and that as a coach, he would follow the right process to have his team perform.
Lwandamina said the team was still in the recovery process after the 2015 season but that players were responding well.
“The team has been doing well ever since they started training. Just because we lost the Charity Shield doesn’t mean we are not doing fine. I don’t believe in shortcuts and I will follow the process of preparing my team the right way,” Lwandamina said.
He said the six-week cycle for recovery after a long season was important for any team that was aiming at achieving its targets.
“Don’t forget that Zambian teams are just coming from the off-season. So the process is the same, you do it right you come out strong, you do it wrong you come out weak. People should respect the off-season programmes if they want to yield results,” he said.
Lwandamina said he was aware that fans and Zambians in general were demanding for better results and display but that could not happen when the team had not completed the recovery process.
“The team is doing what it can do at this stage. They are doing fine considering that they did not finish the six weeks’ recovery process.
“There are no shortcuts in football. We can lose the Charity Shield but go all the way to win the League,” he said.
Meanwhile, Lwandamina said the return leg against Al Ghazal would be an interesting game because he did not know what to expect.
“I don’t know what to expect, I’m not God to know what they are planning in South Sudan. Unless you want me to be seeing what is miles away from here, then you will start saying he is a sorcerer.
“What is important is our team, that’s all. We will work with our team. Whatever we will find on the pitch we will deal with it,” he said.
Zesco will carry a 2-0 advantage going into the second leg of this preliminary round.
And goalkeeper Banda has returned to the team after serving his suspension he carried from last season in a 17-man team Lwandamina has named.
According to the list released by the club’s media and public relations officer Katebe Chengo, others returning to the team are striker Jackson Mwanza and defender Mathews Nkowane, who both missed the first leg due to malaria.
The team has goalkeepers Banda and Lameck Nyangu while the defenders are Daut Musekwa, Ayo Oluwafemi, Ben Adamah Banh, David Owino Odhiambo and Bernard Mapili.
Midfielders are Anthony Agay Akumu, Clatous Chama Chota, Misheck Chaila, Maybin Mwaba, Mwape Mwelwa, John Ching’andu with Idris Ilunga Mbombo, Jackson Mwanza, Lazarous Kambole and Jesse Jackson being the strikers.