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Eddie Chikamhi Senior Sports Reporter

DYNAMOS coach Tonderai Ndiraya believes the President’s Independence Trophy against Highlanders will be a special opportunity for the Glamour Boys to unveil their squad for the coming season.

The giants are set to get the ball rolling in the President’s Independence Trophy at the National Sports Stadium on Sunday, as the major highlight of Zimbabwe’s 41st independence anniversary.

The kickoff will mark the return of domestic football after almost 18 months of inactivity due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Harare giants have done a complete make-over of their squad after bringing in over a dozen new faces in the last few months in preparation for the resumption of football. DeMbare this week completed the signing of former Bulawayo Chiefs utility man, Shadreck Nyahwa.

Recently they unveiled five players that include Trevor Mavhunga, Frank Makarati, Tinashe Makanda, Newman Sianchali and Luke Musikiri.

“The game is going to present us with an opportunity to assess our squad further. I can safely say that we are done now with our signings, we are done with our squad except of course for the goalkeeping department which we are going to address as we go forward.

“But we are almost ready psychologically for the game on Sunday. Of course we won’t be fit. It has been our appeal to the organisers of the game to allow us to use as many players as possible so that we avoid overloading these guys and that we avoid picking injuries for the forthcoming season.

“At the same time, we also want to thank the organisers of the tournament for giving us the opportunity to unveil our squad to the fans out there who have been clamouring to see what we have this season.

“So Sunday will be a special day for us, a special day for the country and a special day for our fans when they get to see their team in action,” said Ndiraya.

Last year, Dynamos unveiled players such as Partson Jaure, Juan Mutudza, Barnabas Mushunje, Tinotenda Chiunye, goalkeeper Tymon Mvula, Lennox Mutsetse, Tanaka Chidhobha, Sylvester Appiah, Byron Madzokere and David Temwanjira.

To prepare for the Uhuru Trophy, Dynamos have been conducting two training sessions per day since they started their pre-season last Saturday.

Both teams are set to face off with rusty players following a long-layoff due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and only after less than a week’s training.

“So far so good but I think we must all understand that we are still in the early pre-season stage and given that fact it’s really quite difficult for us to push our players much for the game.

“So we have had two training sessions a day. We were focusing on our pre-season in the mornings and then the game tactics in the afternoon to make sure that we are somehow prepared for the game on Sunday.

“But physically, I must be very honest, we won’t be fit for the match. I think we all understand that you need a minimum of six weeks for you to be fit for the match. We have just been taking it nice and slow,” said Ndiraya.