HARARE - Zimbabwe football coach Ian Gorowa has expressed disappointment with midfielder Willard Katsande for failing to report for Warriors training, fuelling speculation the Kaizer Chiefs hardman would rather attend the South Africa Premiership awards ceremony on Sunday.
The Warriors gaffer included Katsande in his provisional squad that began preparations for the 2015 African Nations Cup preliminary round qualifier against Tanzania at the weekend.
Gorowa said the Warriors management has been unsuccessful in their efforts to ascertain the whereabouts of Katsande and there is a high possibility to drop him for Sunday’s match set for Dar es Salaam.
Katsande’s absence has sparked speculation that the midfielder has snubbed the Warriors because the game clash with the South African Premiership’s awards ceremony, where Katsande is hugely tipped to be crowned the league’s finest player for the just ended season.
The glittering ceremony will be held on Sunday night at the Sandton Convention in Johannesburg,
The Warriors conducted their first training session at Gateway High School yesterday morning.
“Katsande, we don’t know where he is. He was supposed to be here. We called him up but it’s something that we need to discuss as a technical team,” Gorowa said.
“When I spoke to his manager at Kaizer Chiefs he assured me that Katsande will be available but he is not here. I think football has to go on. It’s a national team and I think we have a wider range where we can pick players from.
“We look at players who are committed, who want to die for the nation. I think we saw Cuthbert (Malajila) coming in, we saw Tendai (Ndoro) coming in, it shows a lot of commitment. Washington (Arubi) is here, Simba (Sithole) is here, I think that is sense of commitment.
“I am just disappointed with Katsande, we had given him a chance. I think the other coaches said he can’t play for them but we said he must be here by Monday.”
Gorowa added that he will consult his technical team to see how best they can handle the issue.
“A player cannot be treated separately because he plays for Kaizer Chiefs or any other club,” he said.
“We are all the same, we have the same objective. It’s something that I will have to deal with as a coach and make a decision out of it. If he turns up I don’t think it will be fair to the other players to include him in the team.
“One thing that you need to do as a coach is to be fair to the other players. But again it’s a decision that I will have to make at the end of the day.”
Gorowa, who saw his selection options limited after the world football governing body Fifa declared that the qualifiers fell out of their international calendar, was dealt a blow as Kaizer Chiefs striker Kingston Nkhatha was ruled out with an injury.
Nkhatha’s Kaizer Chiefs teammate Knowledge Musona and Mamelodi Sundowns playmaker Khama Billiat are also sidelined by injuries.
Turning to the weekend’s match, Gorowa said he is taking the Taifa Stars seriously.
“It’s a tricky fixture. We played a friendly with Tanzania last year and we drew. We are not taking them lightly and it’s going to be a difficult game,” he said.
“What could be an advantage for us is that we are playing away first. So we need to go there and get a result before we can finish them at home.
“We are hoping players will be focused and qualify to the group stages. There are three phases that we need to go through and I have given that to Zifa.
“Phase one is to try and win these preliminaries. Phase two will be playing those group stages and phase three will be going to Morocco.
“Hopefully we will be able to get a good result. I have confidence with the players, confidence with what we can do. I think we will be able to qualify for Morocco but I think it’s easier said than done.
“Tanzania, for me, I am very worried and we should be well alert. I was speaking to the Malawi coach so he gave me an insight on how they play.”
Gorowa also downplayed the absence of a good number of foreign-players in his squad.
“We cannot cry that some other players are not there. I think we have got enough talent and I always say football has to go on. Maybe it’s an opportunity for the other players as well to take the chance. I am happy with what we have.”