Mtawali says no one is guaranteed place in Malawi team

Newly appointed Malawi football team head coach Ernest Mtawali has promised to select players on merit and that no player is guaranteed a place in his team.

Mtawali said this as he was asked to unpack his future plans following his appointment after out classing Edingtone N’gonamo, Gilbert Chirwa and Nswanzurwimo Ramadhan (who was appointed his deputy) during the interviews last week.

“We will be picking players on merit and no one is guaranteed a place in the national team” said 51 year old Mtawali.

“Am not here on holiday but am here to impart the knowledge I have gained all these years,” he added.

The Flames legendary said his vision is to expose hidden talent and to make sure that players from Malawi like any other continents make names in the world.

Meanwhile, Mtawali claims that he has no any excuse and that he will be able to drill players ahead of any assignment in a period of seven days.

It will be the first time that Mtawali has taken charge of a national team at senior level having previously been Malawi’s Under-20 coach.

He believes his experience as a player and now coach is enough to see Malawi move forward.

“It is a challenge that I have been looking for,” Mtawali said following his appointment.

“I think I am going to bring a different dimension to the national team using my previous successful career as a player.

“We need to instil the tactical discipline in each and every player because what is important is to see Malawi achieving success.”

tawali has been appointed as head coach of Flames with Burundian Nsanzurwimo Ramadhan named as his assistant.

Football Association of Malawi (FAM) president Walter Nyamilandu said he hoped the two coaches would start the process of rebuilding Malawi so as to see the team go back to winning ways.

“We have lost our style of play over the years and Ernest and Ramadhan represent that missing link.

“They are both tactically minded because modern football is very scientific and we think they can bring in the high standard of play that we are lacking so that we can have the competitive edge” Nyamilandu added.

Mtawali and Ramadhan’s immediate challenges will be in the 2017 Nations Cup qualifiers.

Malawi next play Swaziland early next month in their second group match before starting their World Cup campaign away to Tanzania in September.—Additional reporting by Frank Kandu, BBC Sport