Botswana Premier League defending Champions Township Rollers announced their second coach of the season on Tuesday morning.
The Hamilton born football manager, Frank Nuttal has replaced Czech Republican Tomas Trucha who was given the sack a fortnight ago.
The 52 year old Scott joins the defending champions at a crucial time where they find themselves in an unfamiliar territory.
Popa are lying forth on the league table behind Security Systems and the two Debswana sponsored sides Orapa United and Galaxy FC.
The new Popa coach has no real record as a football player.
He was released by Celtic in 1987 as an apprentice and turned to studying Physical Education, graduating with a Masters Degree in Sports Science from Loughborough University.
From the age of 24 the highly ambitious Scotsman was already part of the backroom staff.
He started at West Bromwich Albion in 1998 as a fitness coach, later Rangers FC and Middlesbrough.
From 2009 to 2011, Nuttal was Chinese national team’s Assistant Manager.
He was later appointed England U17 conditioning coach from 2007 to 2011.
His first appointment as a Head Coach came in 2014, when he took charge at Kenya’s Premier League Champions Gor Mahia.
Armed with a UEFA Professional and A Licenses, he quickly established himself in Kenya as a master tactician leading his team to an unbeaten league triumph in 2015.
Gor Mahia also clinched the KPL Top 8 Cup and the Kenya Super Cup under his stewardship.
He was however fired in 2016 over a salary dispute, but was quickly snapped up by Ghanaian side Hearts of Oak in 2017 after a short stint as an assistant coach of Egyptian side Zamalek.
In his one season in Ghana he guided Hearts of Oak to a third finish in the 2017/18 championship and reached the finals of the Ghana FA Cup.
The well travelled coach also had stints in the Sudanese league with El-Hilal El-Obeid.
What then can this self made football manager bring to an ambitious club like Township Rollers?
A club who winning everything on offer has been engraved in their DNA.
Nuttal arrives at a time when his new employers are chasing on three fronts.
Rollers are eyeing a treble. The Blues have their eyes on the league, the Orange FA Cup and Mascom Top 8 Cup.
With fixtures coming in thick and fast in coming weeks, having a Sports Scientist in the technical bench may just be what the doctor ordered.
In today’s elite sports, science has become an integral part in helping athletes to fulfil their true potential.
Some advanced nations such as USA and Australia have used Sports Science, particularly sports technology to devastating effect.
A Sport Scientist’s duty is to analyse how physical activity and exercise generates health in the athlete and through detailed knowledge of systems ensures that athletes reach full potential.
It also incorporate physiology, psychology, nutrition, diet, sports technology and performance analysis.
Nuttal could just be what Rollers need in their ambition to venture into Africa.
The Gaborone West outfit qualified for the group stages of the CAF Champions league for the first time in 2018 facing record eight times Champions Al Ahly, Esperance and Kampala City Authority.
Although they won just one match, it became evident in some matches that most of the players were psychological ready for the tough encounters in Africa.
This was proven when they failed to repeat the fit the next season, tumbling out of the competition at the preliminary stages.
The Club President Jagdish Shah has made it clear that his vision is to see Rollers competing with the best in Africa’s best football showpiece.
Could the Scotsman be the man to help Rollers realise their African dream? Only time will tell.
A smile says a thousand words.
