Opinion: SHOOTING STARS - Time for real business

SHOOTING STARS - Time for real business By Tosin Omojola At last, the Nigerian National League (NNL) management rolled out the draws and fixtures for the 2018/19 season on Thursday night in Abuja. With the kick off date now fixed for Wednesday, April 3, the waiting game is over, the stage is now set for hostilities and all the gladiators now know where they belong and who their opponents are. The pride of South West Nigeria, one of the most followed clubs on the continent of Africa and beyond, the first club to bring a club honor to Nigeria and a club that had and is still producing soccer greats in Nigeria, the Shooting Stars Sports Club of Ibadan are among the gladiators. Having the whiskers last season, the Stars are good to go this time around. The second tier is not the right place for the Stars and that is why the management, the technical crew, and the players have braced up to take the team back to where they rightly belong, the elite cadre of the Nigerian league. Come Wednesday, April 3, we begin our journey to secure a ticket back to the top flight with an away game against a relatively punk newcomer, a newcomer so to say, Giants Briller of Enugu state. The easy fixture, you might want to say, apparently based on pedigree but we are not seeing it that way. Every team in Nigeria wants to beat Shooting Stars to prove a point, just like African minnows would always raise their game when they battle Germany. With so many efforts put into preparations by the Oluyole Warriors, we are taking every game seriously. The present squad of Shooting Stars, under the tutelage of coach Edith Olumide Agoye could be described as a wounded Lion. We believe competing in the NNL is like caging the Oluyole Warriors, that is why our target is nothing but a return to the Nigerian premier league. We have been lumped in a group that has tested teams, clubs who are not new to us and few aliens. When you have the likes of Akwa Starlets, Stationery Stores, 36 Lions, J.Atete, Bayelsa United, Osun United, and Abia Comets to contend with, you will agree with me that this is a real war. However, going by our preparations, the determination of the players to scale through, there is no cause for alarm, the Stars are rearing, ready to go. That our players are well motivated, the technical crew is working hard to build a solid team, which I can say authoritatively that it has, and that the management team is working round the clock to put things in the right shape, let me say unequivocally that we are ready. We begin our quest with an away trip, hoping to return home with all the points in our kitty, thereby kick-starting on a sound footing, we rely so much on the support of our fans and supporters worldwide. Where you can afford to be physically, please, never hesitate to be available. In football these days, the role of the 12th player (the fans) cannot be toyed with, we need you around to cheer and motivate the players always. On the other hand, where you cannot be physically, maybe due to exigencies of duty or distance factor, be there with your prayers, that goes a long way to help. In a nutshell, what I'm soliciting for on behalf of the management, the coaches and the players of this team is your unalloyed, unflinching support. Together we are in it, together we can do it and the glory of the STARS will surely rise again I can assure you all, that torture best of our ability, the Shooting Stars are set for real business as our theme remains "PROMOTION BACK TO THE ELITE LEAGUE". God help us and crown our efforts with success.