Murape stops training Pirates

ORLANDO Pirates coach Shepherd Murape is on the brink of leaving Orlando Pirates, if the club’s executive committee does not meet the demands set by new owner Hendrik Dawids.

Pirates held a marathon meeting late yesterday to iron out differences among themselves since the arrival of Hendrik Dawids, who took over at the start of the season. Murape confirmed to The Namibian Sport yesterday that Dawids had asked him to stop coaching the team.”He told me to stop with training because I am contracted to him,” he said.He said this was because Dawids and the executive committee at Pirates still need to reach an agreement on several issues that clearly spell out their respective responsibilities.But a reliable club source told The Namibian Sport at the weekend that Murape will no longer be part of the team as coach and that the team will look elsewhere for a new coach.”I can tell you 100 per cent for sure that Murape will not continue as Pirates coach.He has been asked to stop doing his work and Pirates are looking for another man to take over,” the source said.Murape has lost two consecutive league games and also failed to land the side a place in the finals of the FNB Cup, making it three losses in a row.The source said the demanding Pirates fans were not happy with the situation and decided to put pressure on the owner to release the coach from his duties.When contacted yesterday, club chairman Mabos Vries said Murape was not yet released, but a decision will be made known today on his fate, as well as the position of the club’s executive committee in regard to the agreement they ought to enter with Dawids.Vries earlier last week also denied that there was a rift between the club’s supporters and Dawids, saying that people did not understand clearly what the role of the new owner was.Supporters are generally not happy with the performance of the team, while they also want to know the real purpose of Dawids at the club.They want to know if Dawids is just an investor in the team or whether he would wholly own the team and run all its operations.Those questions were to be answered at yesterday’s meeting.Murape, who is a Zimbabwean national, was brought to Namibia by Dawids about five seasons ago and had won back-to-back league titles with Blue Waters before moving to Pirates this season.He is the only Zimbabwean mentor to have coached Namibia’s national team in the nineties.Pirates are currently in fifth position on the log and have seven points from their five matches.The team has assembled some of the finest players in the domestic premiership and with the arrival of Dawids, the team has raised high hopes of being the frontrunners for the league title and a force in domestic cup competitions.Pirates have two players (Richard Gariseb and Patrick Jagger) in the national side at the moment, but they have been criticised of having players with similar playing abilities, especially in midfield.Their strikers have been struggling to score goals, with only six from their five matches so far, while their goalkeepers have conceded only four.Murape confirmed to The Namibian Sport yesterday that Dawids had asked him to stop coaching the team.”He told me to stop with training because I am contracted to him,” he said.He said this was because Dawids and the executive committee at Pirates still need to reach an agreement on several issues that clearly spell out their respective responsibilities.But a reliable club source told The Namibian Sport at the weekend that Murape will no longer be part of the team as coach and that the team will look elsewhere for a new coach.”I can tell you 100 per cent for sure that Murape will not continue as Pirates coach.He has been asked to stop doing his work and Pirates are looking for another man to take over,” the source said.Murape has lost two consecutive league games and also failed to land the side a place in the finals of the FNB Cup, making it three losses in a row.The source said the demanding Pirates fans were not happy with the situation and decided to put pressure on the owner to release the coach from his duties.When contacted yesterday, club chairman Mabos Vries said Murape was not yet released, but a decision will be made known today on his fate, as well as the position of the club’s executive committee in regard to the agreement they ought to enter with Dawids.Vries earlier last week also denied that there was a rift between the club’s supporters and Dawids, saying that people did not understand clearly what the role of the new owner was.Supporters are generally not happy with the performance of the team, while they also want to know the real purpose of Dawids at the club.They want to know if Dawids is just an investor in the team or whether he would wholly own the team and run all its operations.Those questions were to be answered at yesterday’s meeting.Murape, who is a Zimbabwean national, was brought to Namibia by Dawids about five seasons ago and had won back-to-back league titles with Blue Waters before moving to Pirates this season.He is the only Zimbabwean mentor to have coached Namibia’s national team in the nineties.Pirates are currently in fifth position on the log and have seven points from their five matches.The team has assembled some of the finest players in the domestic premiership and with the arrival of Dawids, the team has raised high hopes of being the frontrunners for the league title and a force in domestic cup competitions.Pirates have two players (Richard Gariseb and Patrick Jagger) in the national side at the moment, but they have been criticised of having players with similar playing abilities, especially in midfield.Their strikers have been struggling to score goals, with only six from their five matches so far, while their goalkeepers have conceded only four.