Will Mayanja be hero or villain after derby?

Good as he is, still fans and officials of Simba will not remove their caps in gesture of appreciation and acknowledgement unless he downs archrivals Yanga by any margin of victory. Winning the scudetto is not more relevant for Simba or Yanga fan than sealing victory over the other. Regardless of taking Simba to the top of the standings table for the first time in four years, seven-match roller coaster display, these are not the qualities befitting Simba coach according to the club’s tradition. Beat Yanga, even if the performance is pathetic! This weekend's latest edition of Dar es Salaam derby between Yanga and Simba could not have come up at a better time for all football fans. Both teams are confident though Simba are super confident. Every side is relishing the upcoming battle that promises hefty fireworks. The overconfidence in Simba seems to be irritating Yanga fans. The fans can't wait to put Simba where they belong. Simba are finally on top of the table for the first time in three years after a fine run of six straight wins. This has emboldened Simba fans. Walking through the streets of Dar es Salaam all over, suddenly you encounter a significant number of fans adorned in the red and white colours of the famous Msimbazi jersey. The foul smell that permeated the Msimbazi street air is gone. The rants against the club leadership have toned down to an inaudible whisper from isolated voices. The media that criticized the management for their inexcusable leadership style have all tactically changed to another gospel. The gospel of praising Simba performance. Nothing bad, there is no shame in giving the devil his due. Everyone is praising the interim coach, Jackson Mayanja for the unbeaten run. Mayanja has insisted he is changing the team, improving it. No one can deny Mayanja has done a good job since taking charge of the slippery job of managing Simba. Mayanja knows he has so far done well but Saturday’s derby is what makes or breaks a coach reign at Msimbazi. When it comes to the Dar derby, previous results count almost for nothing. Past success however long, it is no guarantee for job safety. Mayanja does not have to look very far. His predecessor, Dylan kerr went into the Dar derby with a fine record of having won three straight games that included two away matches in a venue that Simba had never won in two years. But all that went into the drain when Simba lost 2-0 at the hands of their bitter rivals. His relationship with the club hierarchy soured. Everything went south. It was not that Kerr had a bad record, in fact statistics shows that at the time of sacking he had won 62 per cent of his league matches. Not a bad record at as suggested otherwise. Win the Dar derby lose and a coach becomes a hero but woe into a coach who lose. Fans will stop singing your name, critics will question your tactical intelligence and decision making. Nowhere else does the cliché ‘Players win matches, coaches lose games’ rings as true as in the Dar derby. The great, as Mayanja is fondly known in Uganda, knows all these stuff though it would be his maiden Dar derby. He has lived in Tanzania long enough to understand the dynamics and politics of our football. He is obviously cognizant of the heavy responsibilities and demands of taking charge of a club in a derby. Having lost the last derby and won nothing in the last three years, Mayanja is aware of the burden of expectations for revenge. The unbeaten record has only served to add to the burden of expectations to Mayanja. Simba fans expect more, most believe they are the team to beat going into Saturday's derby. Fans have become cocky, super confidence. They expect nothing than victory. They are putting pressure on Mayanja in his first big test. This is Mayanja's litmus test. If he passes then he will have bought a couple of months. Lose and everything will be forgotten very fast. When he was appointed, there were doubts about his suitability as well as credibility. Not even Simba leaders believe he was the right man to take charge of the team. Many saw him as a caretaker who was appointed to warm the seat for someone else. But the unexpected chain of event has changed the narrative and now he is the man that Simba believe will lead them to silverware for the first time after four years. Will he pass his litmus test against Yanga?