'No sweat, Chipolopolo are ready'

Herve Renard, the coach of defending Nations Cup champions Zambia, was livid when he was interviewed after his side was held to a goalless draw against Morocco at Rand stadium.

The draw did at least end a three-game losing streak of defeats by Saudi Arabia, Tanzania and Angola.

When Renard was asked if he was worried ahead of Zambia's opening match against Ethiopia on January 21, he said: "Every time Zambia lose practice matches people think it's a catastrophe for our preparations!

"Please! You saw that the players - such as Rainford Kalaba - are not at their [best] .

'It's normal. We still have about 13 days before our first game and that means there's still some time for us. It will be better in three more days."

Renard implied that Zambian fans were overreacting.

"When we played Saudi Arabia it was a local Zambian team [which played to get] experience on the international stage. It was not a Fifa date. If I want to play [only] championship [games] then I should stay at home and not play these kinds of games," he said.

"I need to expose local players to tough games. So, before people say 'Zambia lost three games', take [all] the information," he said, referring to Zambia's 1-0 victory over Bafana Bafana in the Nelson Mandela Challenge in November.

"We had a strong team then," he said of the match gainst Bafana.

Zambia fielded their first-choice team in that match but since then Renard has been experimenting with fringe players.

Zambia are in Group C of the Nations Cup, with Ethiopia, Nigeria and Burkina Faso.

Renard said they were just getting started.

"We have to put the right information in the right place.

"If you play with 20 players from the local league, it is not the same as playing with Christopher Katongo, Kennedy Mweene, Stopila Sunzu and everybody," the coach said.

Asked if he thought Zambia would successfully defend their title, Renard said the team would do its best. He said his experience at the Nations Cup would give him the edge over his counterparts.

Zambia end their preparations for the Nations Cup with a friendly against Norway on Saturday, in Ndola.