Although he cannot take over yet until the club has secured his work permit and other facilities, Npini is eager to get down to real business because he sees a great future at Santos. Npini told Monitor Sport that he was not worried about the team's position on the league table. "I got my nick name when I was still with Caps United because I used to tell people that I feared no one. My boys played against big teams like the dreaded Raja Casablanca of Morocco in the Confederation of African Football (CAF) games and never felt intimidated at all. I was not even stressed by the prospect of meeting Dynamos who are the biggest team with massive support in Zimbabwe. You would just be intimidated by their supporters if you were inexperienced," he said. According to 'The Lion' Santos are not in a precarious position because there are still many games to go and with the kind of talent at their disposal, he does not see how he would fail to lift them up. "I have worked under immense pressure before and Santos sitting at the bottom of the log before the end of the first round is not a big deal," he said. However, the Zimbabwean mentor highlighted the need to start collecting points, saying the team needs a 'quick take-off' in their next game. While Santos were dropping points, one of their veteran defenders, Pius Kolagano, was missing from action. In fact, the veteran former Zebras stopper's last game was the Coca-Cola final last year.
Kolagano has not made it a secret that he decided to stay away because of money owed to him and that he would only return once the arrears were paid. Another key player, who has been missing in action is Vincent Phiri. "I could not continue playing when I was not paid. I am not a youngster any more and I deserve to be rewarded for my work. Maybe the youngsters are just happy to be expressing themselves on the field but for me it does not work that way anymore," Kolagano told Monitor Sport.
