‘The boys want to crush whatever can be crushed’ – Madinda impressed by his team’s attitude.

The Highlanders technical bench is pleased with the hunger and desire exhibited by players at training ahead of the Premier Soccer League (PSL) match against Herentals FC at Barbourfields stadium on Sunday.

Addressing journalists during the club’s weekly press conference held at the club office on Thursday, technical manager Madinda Ndlovu who was flanked by his lieutenants Bekithemba Ndlovu and Mandla Mpofu said the intensity at training shows how hungry the boys are.

Like every concerned Highlanders stakeholder, Ndlovu is irked by the fact that the team has not won a league match in the opening seven games of the season, losing three and drawing four in the process.

He is however, emboldened by the positives and the level of improvement he has witnessed in the past seven league matches.

Ndlovu who has always raised questions on his players’ match fitness, last week told journalists that he was impressed by how his players have tremendously improved on that aspect.

The former Bosso winger insisted yesterday that although the players are not yet where he would have expected them to be at the beginning of the season, there are signs that his charges are almost getting there.

He said now his major concern was that the boys were failing to put the ball at the back of the net, an aspect he described as an uncoachable individual skill.

However, to address the goal drought issue, Ndlovu said his technical bench is seized with talking to the players and giving them finishing drills to make sure they get goals.

“We are happy that the boys are playing good football, they are playing creative football, they are creating opportunities, they are creating scoring chances, but just that final finishing. We will not despair. We will continue to make sure that we speak to our players, we monitor how we give them drills that will end up giving us goals from the created chances, and I think we are not very far, I think we are just almost there, one, two, three, we will be singing and laughing again,” said Ndlovu.

He added that keeping the boys motivated had been the club’s priority, and he has no doubt one team will collapse heavily at Barbourfields stadium not so long ago.

“The boys want to crush whatever can be crushed. We are also trying to do whatever we can to keep the boys motivated, to keep the boys focused in line with victory,” he added.

Highlanders and Herentals will be meeting for the third time since the Harare-based side was promoted to topflight football last season.

Last season Bosso completed a back-to-back over their Sunday opponents, and that should be enough motivation for the boys ahead of this crucial fixture.

In the first leg Ozias Zibande came from the bench and scored a late brace to propel Highlanders to a 2-0 victory at the National Sports stadium, before Adrian Silla scored a long range goal in the return leg at Barbourfields stadium, to make sure Bosso collected maximum points and completed a double over then PSL debutantes.

If head to head statistics is something to go by, Highlanders will go to the Sunday match in high spirits, knowing that they are facing a side that has not only failed to pick a point, but also failed to score a single goal against them.

It is however, their poor start to the season, which has seen them fail to score a single goal in four matches played at their favourite hunting ground, that should remind Bosso not to read much into history.