Indeni Rose FC, head coach Rex Chanda believes bringing in quality players to strengthen key positions is necessary if his side is to challenge for the ZPL Women’s Super League title.

Indeni Rose have made a strong start to the transitional campaign, collecting 13 points from their first five matches to sit second on the table, level on points with defending champions Zesco Ndola Girls, with only goal difference separating the two sides.

Chanda said the club has maintained most of the players that helped the team finish third last season, with only two players leaving.

The coach, who is in his fourth season at the club, added that the team has experienced players but needs reinforcements in specific positions to compete for the title.

He believes strengthening the squad is necessary because modern football demands pace and competition for places.

“We are rated as the team with the most senior players, indicating that I have not changed the players that I found. They have been here, and this is my fourth season. Most of these senior players are still intact,” Chanda said.

“The only way we will be able to lift the trophy is when we have the ability to reinforce with quality players in the positions that we identify as needing more competition. Modern football is all about speed, and we really need to make sure that there is competition. In that way, we will be able to compete positively and make sure that we get the league,” he said.

“We fought so hard” – Chanda.

Chanda is looking to improve on last season’s third-place finish, accepting that his side missed out on a better position because of a lack of concentration in some matches.

He said Indeni Rose performed well against bigger teams but lost valuable points against easy opponents after underestimating them.

“We fought so hard and tried so hard. We played well throughout the season, making sure that we achieved our objective, but we failed to get first or second position and finished third, which was still a very good position going into the transitional league,” Chanda said.

“Otherwise, the big teams that we competed with, we beat all of them. We only lost to smaller teams because we underrated them. If we had shown the same spirit that we showed against Green Buffaloes, ZESCO, and Red Arrows, we would have won the league,” he added.

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