Thabo Senong says his stint at Highlanders FC is a learning curve, accepting the weight of expectations at a club that last won the league title two decades ago.
Highlanders last won the Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League title in 2006 under Methembe Ndlovu. Ndlovu stands as the youngest coach to win a league title in Zimbabwe, as he was 33.
Interestingly, 45-year-old Senong is the first South African coach to take charge of a Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League side. And as he steps into one of the hottest and most hotly contested positions in the country, a lot is expected from him.
However, the former Sekhukhune United coach has chosen to take a humble stance, as he is expected to halt Highlanders’ two decades without a league title. Their latest trophy came in 2019 when they won the Chibuku Super Cup title.
“I’m looking forward to meeting the players and the passionate fans. Lots of work to be done, and I’m eager to learn a lot from everyone involved in the club. It’s a very big club with a rich heritage, and we’re just looking forward to protecting the brand of the club and working hard every day,” Senong said.
Additionally, Senong said he is anchoring on former AmaZulu FC striker Mkhokheli Dube, who is already familiar with Zimbabwean football. Dube is his assistant coach.
“I’m very fortunate to have been working closely with Denzel Mnkandla, the CEO. He’s been briefing me a lot. I’ve already been in touch with Coach Mkhokheli Dube, and we’ve been talking a lot about the league, of course,” he added.
“Because we’re not playing football in a vacuum, we’re playing against very good opponents. So we’re just trying to also get to know about the opponents, get to know about our team, and where we can improve. That’s what we need to reinforce, to strengthen. So yeah, it’s a process, but we just need to make sure that we work hard every day.”
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Meanwhile, Senong is among a new breed of young South African football managers, who are in demand across top leagues in Africa.
Senong, who arrived in Bulawayo on Monday to take charge of the oldest football club in Zimbabwe, has coached in South Africa, Malawi, Lesotho and Tanzania.
He joins Steve Barker (Tanzania), Fadlu Davids (Morocco) and Rulani Mokwena (Algeria), who are coaching top teams on the continent.
The new generation of coaches is taking after the likes of Benni McCarthy, who has coached in Kenya and Cape Verde and Pisto Mosimane.
Mosimane, a former CAF Champions League winner with Mamelodi Sundowns, earned cult status with Egyptian giants Al Ahly.
Senong, who guided the South African under 20 national team to two TotalEnergies Caf U-20 Africa Cup of Nations as well as Fifa U-20 World Cup competitions, has an impressive CV.
His success working junior footballers saw him being roped in to help the Football Association of Malawi with its Fifa-supported youth development.
He told Cafonline when he was still working for the Malawi federation that he owed his grounding in football to the opportunities he got working for South Africa’s top football teams.
“I was very fortunate to be part of leading youth football programmes in South Africa, I was part of the elite youth programmes such as Orlando Pirates' academy, Mamelodi Sundowns' academy, Diambars Academy and, of course, my biggest task was when I joined Safa national teams to work as a the national Under-17 Assistant coach, Under-20 head coach, Under-23 assistant coach and the senior team (Bafana Bafana) assistant coach,” Senong said.
“My personal objective as a coach was to help Safa to reach its potential.
“My goal was to establish solid foundations for the senior team (Bafana Bafana).
“We had to recruit the right talents into the junior national teams, we needed to win the regional tournaments (Cosafa), which we won twice consecutively, we needed to be present at every Caf youth tournament and Fifatournament. We did that successfully.
“Today the senior national team of South Africa is reaping the rewards of the solid foundation we laid. Oswin Appolis, Lyle Foster, Tebogo Mokoena, Aubrey (Modiba) etc are our graduates.”
Appolis, Forester, Mokwena and Modiba were figures in the Bafana Bafana squad that qualified for the 2026 Fifa World Cup to be held in Canada, Mexico and the United States later this year.
They were also part of the squad that featured in the ongoing Africa Nations Cup (Afcon) finals in Morocco where they were knocked out by Cameroon at the last 16 stage.
Bafana Bafana defeated Zimbabwe 3-2 in the group stages to eliminate the Warriors from the tournament.
Senong believes that players should be developed at a young age to suit the modern game.
“The modern game today can be very complex, we witness multiple formations in one match, as this is influenced by the strategical structural intentions from teams and coaches to continuously surprise the opposition during a match,” he told Cafonline.
“Essentially, it becomes critical for youth developers to continuously rethink about the player of the future.
“The player must be flexible, versatile and adaptable to what the modern game and modern professional coach will demand from them.
“In some cases, a modern youth player should be prepared to play 2-3 positions in a season.
“Sometimes we see players playing to different positions in one match in relation to each phase of the game, in possession, out of possession and the transitional phases .”
He said some solutions to close the technical gaps between European and African teams were education in youth development, education in coach development and exchange programmes between European clubs and African teams.
“African teams must prioritise the importance of data analysis, video analysis, sports psychology and sports science,” Senong added.
“Professional clubs in Africa must invest more in creating elite youth programmes referencing clubs like Red Bull Salzburg, Ajax Amsterdam etc. Borussia Dortmund.
“Lastly, our clubs must apply the 'three Cs' model of creating a successful club (1. Capital (cash) 2. Competent (qualified people for the job and Concept (Clear playing style and clear talent recruitment criteria).
