By SANDRA MWILA –
CHIPOLOPOLO coach George Lwandamina says he will still rely on foreign-based players, including those that are struggling to get game time at their clubs, because they are the best Zambia has.
Lwandamina said he would have loved to solely depend on players that are playing competitively, but that there was a lack of exposure in the reserve players.
He questioned whether Zambians would allow a scenario where he would do away with the foreign-based players and concentrate on the locals that were getting game time.
Lwandamina was responding to journalists who wondered why he had continued using Chipolopolo goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene despite him not having game time at his club, Mamelodi Sundowns in South Africa.
Mweene continues to be Chipolopolo first choice goalkeeper despite being demoted to second choice on the perking order at Sundowns.
“Your concerns are valid, if chance allows every player competing competitively would be the ones I would want to work with.
“But the question is, do we have an exposed reserve? How many players have we exposed in our reserve for us to drop these foreign-based players?” Lwandamina asked.
He explained that dropping of players was a matter that needed to be handled well and required public relations and psychological preparation of the team.
“Let me pose this to you, if I said let’s forget about the foreign-based [players] and play locals because these foreign-based ones lack game time, can you allow such a situation?
“Team building is a difficult process, maybe you don’t know. It requires good PR and psychology because players are friends. If I drop Rainford Kalaba, how many strings does he have in the team? Sometimes we look at it from that angle. If I do this, I might affect others. So dropping of players should be done tactically,” he said.