13th October, 2014
Taiwo Adelu
Chief Coach of Nigeria’s Super Eagles won’t accept blame for his team’s woes in recent outings especially in the ongoing 2015 African Cup of Nations qualifying series; instead he has raised an alarm that saboteurs are plotting his downfall.
Keshi, 52, does not have a contract with the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF after his initial three-year deal ran out after the World Cup in Brazil. He led the Eagles to win a third Nations Cup last year and guided the Super Eagles to reach the knockout stage of the World Cup in Brazil. And his record in his last 11 games has left for a very poor reading – lost five, drawn five and won one. The most astonishing was the weekend’s loss to Sudan in an away game of the Morocco 2015 Nations Cup qualifier.
Speaking on Brila FM early today, Keshi said that he found it difficult to believe how his players were not responding to instructions on the field of play in the last few matches when 90 per cent of the players were used to prosecute the qualifying series for the 2014 World Cup and the World Cup proper in Brazil.
“I think the Super Eagles are a tough team to coach,” the embattled coach confessed. “It is rather so sad to believe that a team that 90 per cent of the players I used to prosecute the World Cup qualifiers are playing this way. Some people are out there sabotaging my effort. They don’t want us to qualify for the Nations Cup. They are thinking they are plotting against Keshi. I’m a professional, I’ll get a job elsewhere, but Nigeria belongs to all of us. These people, they think they are God, no they are not. They know themselves, I won’t mention names. They are there to make Nigerians unhappy. I will leave one day, but Super Eagles and Nigeria will remain forever,” said the former Nigerian international who is preparing the Eagles for a return fixture against Sudan on Wednesday in Abuja.
Meanwhile, President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Amaju Pinnick has dropped a strong hint that the football-governing body would not make a hasty decision over the future of Keshi.
“We understand that Nigerians are furious over the fact that the Eagles are last in their pool and are in danger of not qualifying for the finals in Morocco.
“Everyone feels bad about this, including the members of NFF Executive Committee. I just want to call on Nigerians to have patience.
“This new board is determined to do things differently. We are passionate about the Nigeria game and what we want to achieve is build a sustainable football culture for our dear country.
“Our target is to ensure that Nigeria finishes in pole position at major football competitions in Africa and the world, and we believe this is achievable through hard work, diligence, strategic planning and the support of everyone,” Pinnick said.
Nigeria currently props up the rear in Group A of 2015 AFCON qualifying with a point from three qualifying games, a scenario that has left the football chief highly “embarrassed”.