Zanaco Football Club assistant coach Dabid Chilufya blamed his players following the bankers 6-1 defeat to Zesco United in a Week 34 fixture at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium on Saturday.
The humiliating defeat marked Zanaco’s biggest loss during the 2026-27 campaign and denied the Bankers a chance of finishing in the league’s top four.
Speaking in a post-match interview, Chilufya expressed disappointment with his players’ performance, accusing them of “gifting” goals to Zesco United.
“Today’s game is a very bad result. The players’ attitude was not good today. We gave them all the goals that Zesco scored. They didn’t work for them; we just gave them out,” Chilufya said.
Chilufya revealed that the team had targeted a top-four finish at the start of the season but failed to meet expectations despite repeatedly reminding players of the objective during training sessions.
“Our goal was to finish in the top four. Even in training we were telling the players that we needed to come out top four, but when we went to the pitch, the players did not do according to our plan, and at the end of the day we lost again,” he added.
Chilufya admitted there was little positive to take from the team’s display against Zesco, insisting the performance was below standard across all departments.
“We cannot pick anybody or say this part was good because the game was not good today from the players,” he said.
Despite the disappointing end to the campaign, Chilufya described Zanaco’s overall season as an improvement compared to last year when the club battled relegation.
“The season has been good because last season we were fighting relegation. Finishing around fourth, fifth, or sixth is a better achievement, although we failed to hit our target,” he said.
