Online Reporter
Lovemore Dube-Zimpapers Sports Hub
THE Highlanders executive has confirmed that the coaches have submitted their 2025 Castle Lager season targets.
Club chairman Kenneth Mhlophe is keen to see Bosso return to podium position performances and is confident that happier days for the club are on the way.
In an interview with Zimpapers Sports Hub last Thursday, Mhlophe said that as management they were worried about the league drought. Ending the dark chapter is all they are consumed with, as management and the board will not rest until the championship is won.
Highlanders last won the championship in 2006 and has had some near misses.
“We are as worried as the fans. As members of the executive and board, we are supporters too. We get as worried as they do when the club is not winning and we are not resting on our laurels. It’s been a bad 18 years for all of us at Highlanders, and we want to leave that chapter behind us. I promise we will keep trying to do our best so that the club quickly returns to being among the championship winners,” said Mhlophe.
Mhlophe said he, like members of his executive, would love to see Highlanders inscribed on the trophy among other champions of recent years.
Between today and the last time Bosso won the title, Gunners, Monomotapa, FC Platinum, Chicken Inn, Caps United, Dynamos, Ngezi Platinum, and now Simba Bhora have been crowned champions.
In the interview, Mhlophe disclosed that the technical team has since submitted names of players they are confident will fit into the Highlanders playing philosophy introduced by Kelvin Kaindu and produce results.
“The club has met with coaches; it was a meeting in which we were all objective about it as we are under pressure to compete with better-funded teams. We are taking guidelines from our shopping list to our sponsors, and nothing stops our loving fans from coming forward with funding to help us bolster our side. We have always counted on them from the team’s early days and will continue asking them to step in financially and help us compete for honours.
“At this stage I am not going to release any names as this could jeopardise future negotiations. Confidentiality is key, and we want to show respect to our fellow clubs in the League or those in Division One; we will approach them for players,” said Mhlophe.
Mhlophe took time to commend the coaches for getting it right with offensive play.
“In 2023 we scored a measly 24 goals, the lowest by the club in over three decades. This year fans enjoyed watching an attacking Highlanders, which had the third-best statistics. Only Ngezi Platinum with 46 goals and FC Platinum with 44 were more potent than us in front of goal. We say well done to our coaches Kelvin Kaindu, Try Ncube, and Agent Sawu. Goals and results drive people to stadia, and I am happy we even produced the Golden Boot winner. We are on the right track; we saw some magnificent goals and build-ups, but the championship stays our target,” said the Highlanders chairman.
Highlanders, who were hard to penetrate under Brito Baltemar, were generous at the rear and emerged as the 11th-best defence.
This should be a worrying factor and a situation needing arresting if Bosso is to compete for honours.
If the truth be told, Ariel Sibanda’s command and Peter Muduhwa’s imposing presence at the heart of the Highlanders’ defence was missing, and opponents had a field day.
With Muduhwa out of contract and likely to land at Scottland, Sibanda’s future is uncertain; Highlanders will have to go to the market and bring on board three central defenders to compete with or partner Arthur Ndlovu, who appears to be quickly establishing himself in the Highlanders set-up.
Bosso needs to ensure that in every position at least two players are competing.
Of late the team has looked more like a charity with barely an 11 good enough to carry the badge with the bench in a sorry state at times, fans drawing sympathies for the coaches when they ask the lads to warm up.
On very few occasions has there been a substitute to change things as did the likes of Thabani Moyo, Wayne Albertyn, Peter Ndlovu, Tobias Mudyambanje, Amin Soma-Phiri, and the late Nhamo Shambira in their days.
Several other Bosso players have been linked with moves away, and Mhlophe says at the moment there is nothing on paper other than speculation.
The Bosso chairman also commended supporters for their good behaviour.
“Our supporters were fantastic throughout the season. We never had problems with authorities for their conduct, especially at Barbourfields Stadium; whatever referee’s decision we gamely accepted. We pride ourselves on humility and defence of the badge; it was unfortunate what happened at Shamva’s Wadzanayi Stadium. First, as a club, we did not want to play there because of our experience in the league match,” said Mhlophe.
Highlanders and Simba Bhora were fined for crowd trouble in a match that did not end after the referee, Cecil Gwezera, and his assistant, Zondzi Ngosana, awarded a dubious penalty for an incident that happened outside the box in their Chibuku Super Cup quarter-final.
The duo were duly suspended, bringing to six the number of officials at Shamva suspended for wrong calls last season, which amounted to 33.3 percent of the total incidents recorded.
