What’s next for Scottland? He has spent thousands of dollars in an attempt to make his team the best in the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League.
Scottland owner Pedzai ‘Scott’ Sakupwanya showed his financial muscle and bullied all teams during the pre-season transfer market.
Ahead of their debut season in the Premiership, Mabviravira lured reigning Soccer Star of the Year Walter Musona, Golden Boot winner Lynoth Chikuhwa, and former Kaizer Chiefs star Khama Billiat.
Put simply, Scottland, when they signed Musona, Billiat, and Chikuhwa, brought on board the entire top three for the Soccer Star of the Year award.
Godknows Murwira, Kingsley Mureremba, and Tymon Machope, who were also among the eleven finalists.
They also brought on board championship-winning coach Tonderai Ndiraya, who won the Coach of the Year award after guiding Simba Bhora to their maiden league title last year.
The ambitious Premiership debutants had all the ingredients for a successful debut campaign in the country’s top-flight league.
However, things are not going according to plan.
Scottland have won only one of their last eight matches—a scrappy 1-0 victory over basement side Kwekwe United.
They have not won any of their six matches played away from Rufaro Stadium—chief among them the 1-0 loss to archrivals MWOS at Ngoni Stadium.
Worryingly for Ndiraya, his star-studded attack is failing to click.
Musona has only one goal to his name this season, and so does Billiat.
Scottland have failed to score in their last three league matches—a setback that appears to be irritating Sakupwanya, as evidenced by the Mabvuku legislator walking out on his team at Rufaro before full time against CAPS United last Sunday.
A visibly distraught Ndiraya, who is now clearly being affected by the pressure that comes with expectations, insists Scottland are not a big team.
“Scottland is a new team, despite the investment made, when such investment is made, the pressure mounts,” Ndiraya told the media after the defeat to CAPS.
“Naturally, we are a small team with big-name players. We’re new to the league and still learning the ropes.While learning, we also aim to win. We’ve won games before, and we’ll continue to work hard,” he added.
Naturally, when things aren’t going well for a football club, the easy way out is either showing the coach the exit door or signing more players.
Scottland have opted for the latter, bringing on board Warriors forward Terrence Dzvukamanja and Malawian striker Khuda Muyaba.
The idea is for the duo to add some kind of impetus to the misfiring Scottland attack.
That being said, anyone who sees the Scottland crisis through an objective lens will know that the lack of players is not their problem.
The Mabvuku-based side has, by an enormous distance, the best squad in the league. They even had the luxury of loaning out quality players like Innocent Mucheneneka, Tymon Mvula, and King Nadolo to Yadah.
By what means and with what success can the Scottland crisis be solved?
