NFF may insist on Keshi’s assistant--Foreign Technical Adviser

                       
                                 

There are very strong indications that the Nigeria Football Federation will insist on employing a technical assistant for the Super Eagles coach Stephen Keshi going by feelers from the FA office in Abuja. 

I wonder why we keep doing this everytime a Nigerian Coach qualify us for the World-cup. when will we start to trust our own hands? Well, fingers crossed , am waiting to see the foreign technical guy that is coming to win us the World-Cup. 

The NFF members have expressed strong worries on the ability of the former Eagles captain to lead the team creditably at the 2014 but Keshi insists he can operate at the highest level without any such fresh staff whether foreign or local. Instead, he has asked the NFF to reinstate one of his former assistants, Sylvanus Okpala, who was dismissed by the FA last year soon after the African Nations Cup for what was termed an act of insubordination.

A member of the NFF, who confirmed this on the telephone yesterday said, “Some people like to look at issues from a sentimental angle but we are not going to let that worry us this time. We are still studying the situation and whatever is decided on the matter will be implemented.

“We are going to Brazil for the FIFA World Cup and not WAFU Cup and so we are going to meet the very best players, teams and coaches from across the world. This is not going to be a child’s play; we need to present our very best in players and the technical team. We cannot afford to take chances because the national team does not belong to just an individual. We are not taking a hasty decision as we are consulting widely taking very careful review of the situation. Nigeria cannot afford to leave Brazil after the first round. We can no longer celebrate getting to the second round; we want to return from Brazil proudly and we will do what is best for our country on this matter.”

Alluding to past coaches of Nigeria and those in major European teams and leagues, the FA top official reiterated that Clemens Westerhof achieved much because he recognised his limitation and brought in Jo Bofrere while Samson Siasia did the same with Kalika.

The official said that they and independent experts had watched the team closely enough in the last two years to determine that the technical team needs an extra qualified hand.

The NFF technical committee members are scheduled to meet in Abuja on Wednesday with the issue of the Eagles coaching team to Brazil 2014 top of the agenda.

Source : The Punch