Chicken Inn FC coach Tonderai Ndiraya is gunning for a hat-trick of PSL titles, but has remained grounded, admitting his players are still finding their rhythm and that they can’t be rushed despite the huge expectations.
Ndiraya joined the Gamecocks at the tail end of December 2025, along with his trusted lieutenants, including assistant coach Naison Muchekela.
The former Dynamos coach brings his vast experience, having won back-to-back league titles with Simba Bhora FC (2024) and Scottland FC (2025), respectively. He succeeded Joey Antipas, who spent over a decade at the club, leading them to a 2015 league title and several runner-up finishes.
Knowing the huge expectations ahead of him, Ndiraya boldly admits that winning a third league title on the trot is his personal target, but is not exerting pressure on his players as yet.
Ndiraya says he is pleased with how preparations for the 2026 season have gone, having assembled a decent team that now includes exceptional players like Tymon Mvula, Lynoth Chikuhwa, and Francis Mustafa, among others.
“Everything goes back to how you are going to prepare as a team, which I’ve mentioned, we’ve prepared well. But then you’re pretty sure that you’re going to find a lot of competition, and it’s also going to depend on how the players respond to everything that’s going to be thrown at them throughout the season,” Ndiraya said.
“So yeah, pressure, but it’s the pressure that we put on ourselves, that we want to, especially personally, I want to go for a third one. But I’ve always said that football is a process, football is a process, and if you look at the way that we’ve assembled our team, we’ve got quite a number of players that we’ve brought in, and that has sort of disturbed the rhythm that was there last year.
“And we’re starting, almost starting on a new footing, and that requires a bit of time for us to really get the players to understand each other and start to play as a unit. And then, of course, consistently getting results.”
