adminEllina Mhlanga Sports Reporter
DStv Rangers coach Bigboy Mawiwi says they will be gunning for the championship title this year when the 2016 Northern Region Division One soccer league season kicks off next month.
Mawiwi joined Rangers towards the end of the season last year when he took over from Newton Chitewe and the club finished sixth.
The Northern Region perennial campaigners are already moving a gear up in their pre-season preparations having conducted trials for the past two weeks.
Mawiwi said they will be out to win the title but noted that it’s not going to be a stroll in the park since there are good teams in the Northern Region that will also be vying for promotion into the Premiership.
“When you are in Division One, every team wants to get to the Premiership, that’s where we belong, that’s my mandate this year to get into the Premiership.
“It’s very promising because we have got experience so it’s a balanced side. I have high hopes. But it’s not going to be easy, there are teams like (Black) Rhinos, ZRP FC and there is also Gunners, these are very good teams,” said Mawiwi.
The widely travelled coach, who has previously guided a number of Divison One and Premiership sides including Dynamos, Harare City, Eagles and Lengthens said although experience will come to play as they have retained most of their players they have to work hard as a team.
“Experience will come into play but it will also need hard work. Hard work is the secret and team spirit, you need motivated players,” said Mawiwi.
The DStv Rangers coach said they are going to engage three players from the group they have been working with during their trials and Oriel Boys High’s 17-year-old student Panashe Nyabunga is one of the players signed by the club.
Nyabunga, a goalkeeper, was part of the Oriel Boys High team that reached the final of the 2014 Copa Coca-Cola boys Under-16 tournament and was voted the best goalkeeper of the tournament for his outstanding performance.
“Actually we have been holding trials for the past two weeks but we have started on a serious note this week.
“Most of the players are actually from school. We have signed Panashe Nyabunga, who is 17 years old from Oriel. He is a goalkeeper. The other two we are still finalising. Otherwise everyone is there, we have got a very stable team.
“We are taking only three players from the group that we have been working with during the trials. We want to beef up our strikers and defenders.
“Our central defender, Knowledge Machona left for Ngezi Platinum. So we are looking for a central defender, we don’t have one at the moment, that’s the area we are looking at. We are actually starting on the physical preparations this week,” said Mawiwi.
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