Chairman of Nigeria Premier League board, Davidson Owumi has counselled the coaching crew of the Super Eagles to forget the big boys in the team and concentrate their attention on grooming the local players.
While speaking to P.M. Sports at the ongoing Globacom Premier League Super 4 Championship at the Gateway International Stadium, Ijebu Ode, Ogun State early today, the former boss of Rangers International of Enugu said: “I want to believe that the performance of Nigerian players especially those playing in the local league is enough for the coaches of the Eagles to look inward. To me the coaches should forget the headache of waiting endlessly for the likes of Yakubu Aiyegbeni, Joseph Yobo, John Mikel Obi and others who always feel too big to honour national calls.
“It’s when you don’t make use of your time to do the right thing that you will try to hurry up when the action is supposed to have started.
“I want to believe that the over-reliance on foreign-based players has been responsible for the poor performance of our team in international competition in recent time. I think it is time the coaches looked inward by making the national team more competitive for all players.
“For the South Korea game, Austin Eguavoen should try to present the best of Nigerian players at his disposal. Nigerians should not expect much from the team because he has little time to prepare for the match.â€
—Tunde Oyedele/       Ijebu-Ode
