Rivers United start the 2016/17 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) campaign on Sunday in Port Harcourt against El-Kanemi Warriors but their eyes would be on the title from Matchday 1.
No team should be under pressure from the first matchday but it would not be the first time it will happen in Port Harcourt.
In 2007, with Barrister Christopher Green as Rivers State sports commissioner, Sharks were given an ultimatum to win their Matchday 1 game against Nasarawa United by 3-0 or the coaches would be sacked.
They eventually won that game 3-1, but I digress.
No one has given Rivers United an ultimatum, but the players, coaches and backroom staff would feel the self-imposed pressure due to certain factors not hidden from followers of the league.
From grass to grace During the 2015/16 season, at some point it seemed as though the team would just continue the way of Sharks and Dolphins of yore.
They were winning at home and losing away. The fans were not happy until a three-match ultimatum came the way of the team via the sports commissioner, Boma Iyaye.
The team had on March 23, 2016 drawn 0-0 against Sunshine Stars at home, a bore fest that infuriated the sports commissioner and he announced the ultimatum.
Suddenly they had a road win over Ikorodu United, 3-2, a 1-0 win at home to El-Kanemi and even though they lost on the road to Heartland, the coaches had done enough to keep their jobs and the story was different from that point on.
They even beat Warri Wolves on the road for good measure and had some other decent results like a nil-all draw against Enyimba in Umuahia.
Their newfound form was so good that at some point they thought they could win the league until they drew goalless against Abia Warriors at home on penultimate matchday, giving the advantage to Rangers.
For a team that struggled at the start of the season, finishing in 2nd place was a big improvement and the state governor noticed it.
The weight of expectations At the end of the season, the Rivers State government, led by Nyesom Wike treated the team as though they won the title.
First he hosted them to a lavish reception and next they were off to Spain for pre-season.
Before the trip to Spain they had done well in the transfer market; in fact some would say, Rivers United “won the transfer window.”
In the window, they got a top goalkeeper in Femi Thomas from Enyimba, while the Aba-based club also let go of Nzube Anaezemba to Rivers United, while Esosa Igbinoba gratefully joined from Nasarawa United.
Bolaji Sakin rejoined from Abia Warriors while Gabriel Wassa crossed the Kukuruku mountains from Minna to sign up.
The club also brought back Dolphins legend, Efosa Eguakun from his sojourn in the Middle East while Lukman Mohammed, Emeka Ogbugh and Kelvin Itoya joined up.
They also increased their foreign legion bringing in the likes of Aliassou Sanou, Daouda Ouattara and Doumbia Zoumana to join up Joseph Douhadji, Godbless Asamoah and Guy Kuemian.
Surely with the kind and quality of players assembled, Rivers United should win the title?
Super4 test After playing series of friendly games against lowly opposition, the biggest test of the club came in the Super4 and after losing their opener to Rangers, the team won their next two games to win the tournament.
If you thought they played lowly opposition to win freely in pre-season, emerging Super4 champions against the likes of Rangers, Wikki Tourists and FC Ifeanyiubah simply meant Rivers United should have been taken more seriously.
Now Port Harcourt fans are dreaming again. The league title had been in Port Harcourt just three times- in 1997 courtesy of Eagle Cement FC and in 2004 and 2011 courtesy of Dolphins FC.
Can Rivers United do it? 'Yes they can' must be the rallying cry of the fans of the club.
The team currently have the longest-serving coach in the league - Stanley Eguma, if you consider his time at Dolphins since 2008 and their playing personnel is top drawer.
In Bernard Ovoke, Kuemian and Igbinoba, they have ball players who want to ball at their feet to do the talking.
In Anaezemba, Yusuf Jaiyeola, Festus Austine and Gabriel Olalekan, they have lads who love to get stuck in and give their all in every game, while Sunday Rotimi has aged gracefully.
Rivers United can actually win the league, but they must fight the pressure enveloping them from the state governor who has spent more than enough, the fans of the club who have waited so long, the media who have all the statistics and would keep tipping them to win and of course themselves.
The pressure is on Rivers United. How they handle it is a matter of conjecture.
credit: npfl