Pieter De Jongh has said Silver Strikers have little chance of winning the super league this season following their barren stalemate against Karonga United last weekend.
He cited the absence of Chimwemwe Idana soon after the first round as the main setback in the championship campaign.
The Dutchman’s Silver are third on the 16-member log table with 47 points, six off the top.
By dropping two points away from home on Sunday, the Bankers missed the opportunity of reducing the gap with the two top teams to just four and De Jongh believes that his team have little chance of competing with the two for the Championship.
He said the Banker’s odds of getting their hands on the Super League silverware was crippled by Chimwemwe Idana’s absence in seven games immediately after the first round.
“In my opinion, we have little chance on the title, that’s realistic. The time we lost the title is when [Chimwemwe] Idana missed seven games. We are behind number one and number two,” said De Jongh.
Idana left Silver Strikers after the expiry of his six-month loan deal from Mbeya City before rejoining the Club as free agent as he terminated his contract with Tanzanian side for failing to honour the contractual obligations.
Meanwhile, the Bankers, were this week, given two assignments up north with Karonga United and Chitipa United on their menu. They started their journey with a point and they are expected to return to actions on Wednesday as they face the Inkhalamu Zga Ku Chitipa.
De Jongh said collecting a point against Karonga United away from home was not bad.
“Everyone was disappointed that we didn’t take three points [against Karonga] because we had the possibilities. We had a better game, we controlled the game only that we didn’t score.
“It’s normal, a draw or a point is always good when you play away.
“This game [against Chitipa United] is not crucial because every game is crucial and we play for victory. Our intention is always for victory. The atmosphere and the mood is good for the players,” he added.
Chitipa United managed to get a point in Lilongwe in the first leg after sharing spoils and they are fourth on the log table with 44 points from 26 games.
