On Wednesday, Malawi giant FCB Nyasa Big Bullets announced the signing of Zambian coach Wedson Nyirenda, who agreed to a two-year deal with the target of winning the FDH Bank Premiership. This is what Wedson said.
Q: Your reaction to joining Bullets?
A: I think I am so excited, so glad to be in Malawi, specifically because I’ve been appointed as head coach of Malawi’s grammarless club, the team that has won the league championship 17 times. That is even more than the other big clubs that are all over this world. I think that is a record, 17 times; it’s huge. It tells a big story about Nyasa Bullets. That is why I am interested in coming here. Yeah, I think we have to give back the confidence in the players that they are a big team, that they are, and that they are big players, that they are.
Q: On targets to win the league?
A: So, winning the league, it’s a must for a big team like Nyasa. So, I know exactly what is at stake, and we need to work on this. Mostly, like I said, it is the confidence that we have to impart back into the players. Because when you draw many games, the confidence goes down, and the people stop believing in themselves. So, I think we just want to bring them back into the alignment of a winning mentality.
Q: Your say about Malawi football
A: Yeah, Malawian football is so competitive. I know, Mighty [Wanderers], like you have said, and it is not a pushover league. It is a league that is so exciting; everyone wants to win. But I think we will do our best.
Q: What is your plan for the backroom staff?
A: I am an inclusive coach. I like working with the people that I am working with. I am not a coach who holds everything to himself. Had a meeting with the gentlemen, and I already feel the atmosphere of war coming into them. So, I think I will depend more on their knowledge and their advice.
So, it is not going to be so difficult because in football, we integrate into each other very quickly.
“I have to make them feel comfortable” – Nyirenda.
Yeah, it is very difficult to integrate the players into my philosophy of play. But the most important thing is for the coach to adapt to the players. First of all, I have to adapt to them, make them feel comfortable, and make them feel happy to play. And then, whilst that is happening, I think we will be posting good results. There is also this self-motivation of the player when they see a new coach they want to impress. So, we also have to depend on that. It also comes in handy.
Q: How would you like to transform bullets?
A: We want to see a team, Nyasa Bullets, playing a high-intensity game. I have seen Nyasa play good football; they are a passing team, but we need to work on the speed of the team. We want to work on the intensity of the game. That alone will change the big picture for the team.
Q: Your take on former Bullets coach Kallisto Pasuwa?
A: First of all, I would like to thank Coach Kallisto. He is a good friend of mine. He did great work here at Nyasa, no doubt. He’s a legendary coach, and he deserves to coach the Flames. He coached at his time, and I am coaching in my time. So, comparing me to him now is not on. So, my time is now. I am just concentrating on what I have found now. He was coaching different players. We are going to make new players on the way. And you might be surprised that maybe the brand that will come will be even better. Because we are going to work according to what we have as of now. God willing, two guys will be joining us, and I think we will make it.
Q: Why have you settled for Malawi?
A: Choyamba, bola niyimodzi, mungakambe kuti Zambia yapitilirapo pang’ono kupambana na Malawi, wina anandifunsa same question in Zambia (first of all, football is the same, you can argue that Zambia is ahead of Malawi) But my answer is simple. Tiyenda paliponse kuphunzitsa bola. My own way of doing things is, where there is football, I can be there.
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