Manara on why Morrison will be an instant hit at Simba SC

Simba SC official Haji Manara has tipped new signing Bernard Morrison to be an instant hit at the club.

The Ghanaian midfielder arrived from rivals Young Africans (Yanga SC) in a controversial transfer which forced the latter to lodge a complaint with the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF), who later ruled in favour of the player and the Simba.

Morrison, who had joined Yanga from Orlando Pirates of South Africa, moved to the Wekundu wa Msimbazi on a two-year contract.

Manara has now showered praise on the new signing after watching him in his first training session on Monday and promised Simba fans the player will be an instant hit for the Mainland Premier League champions when the season kicks off on September 6.

“The heart is calm now, we fought the war to bring you here because we know what you can offer, Simba are believing in you because they know you will repay them with a good display and I know you will hit the ground running quickly,” Manara wrote on his social media pages.

“I want to remind and assure you all the Simba family is behind you, we will give you full support so you can prove to all and sundry that you are not a bad boy as it was being claimed.”

Manara further took a dig at Yanga for lying to people that Morrison was a bad person by stating: “I have been with you for a few days, and I have seen the kind of good person you are, a very true person but some are just childish because they wanted to make a drama out of you.”

Simba have already resumed pre-season training ahead of the new season, where they will open their title defence against promoted side Ihefu FC at Sokoine Stadium starting at 16:00 local time.

Yanga will start the new season with a match against Tanzania Prisons at the newly-named Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam.

Yanga fought hard and edged Azam FC for second place in the 2019/20 season but the next campaign will see them face their rivals without notable players.

Former captain Papy Tshishimbi, last season's top scorer David Molinga and defender Kevin Yondani are among the players who will not be part of the Timu Ya Mwananchi next season.

September 6 fixtures; Namungo vs Coastal - Majaliwa, Lindi, Biashara vs Gwambina - Karume, Mara, Ihefu Vs Simba - Sokoine, Mbeya, Mtibwa vs Ruvu Shooting - Gairo, Morogoro, Yanga Vs Prisons - Mkapa, Dar, KMC vs Mbeya City - Uhuru, Dar and Azam Vs Polisi Tanzania - Azam Complex.