Nigeria in no rush to fill Eagles role

Salisu Yusuf © Shengolpixs

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) might not be naming a substantive coach for the Super Eagles in the coming days, supersport.com can report.

NFF Technical Committee chairman, Barrister Chris Green, explained that the country's football federation is "stuck" with the current coaching setup of the Super Eagles.

Green further said the NFF is summing-up the performance of the Super Eagles in recent matches as the plan is "to build a new team."

He admitted to supersport.com on Tuesday that there has been the problem of consistency in the coaching setup which has seen Nigeria being managed by four coaches in the last one year.

 

Stephen Keshi, Sunday Oliseh and Samson Siasia have filled the head coach role of the Super Eagles, which is now occupied by Salisu Yusuf on a temporary basis and Green stated that "Salisu is still working as coach of the Super Eagles."

"For now Salisu is still working as coach of the Super Eagles. There are a lot of things we are looking at now. We are trying to take appraisal of the team. You know we are trying to build a new team. And of course we want an average of very youthful players - a team that will last for long. So, it depends on what the coaches we have now give. If they are up to it, all well and good for us, if not you know what will happen. We will look elsewhere to those who are up to it.

"As we are building a new team, so also we are trying to give our coaches the exposure we think they desire. Even if tomorrow, I am not saying that, if anything happens tomorrow, we need somebody, these people will still remain there.

"(At the moment) what we lack is actually consistency. We had thought that when (Sunday) Oliseh came that he would be there for a long-term not minding the results. Of course when he played a draw against Tanzania, nobody said playing a draw against Tanzania has never happened in a long while. We knew he was building a team, but on his own, nobody chased him, he left on his own.

"Right now we have a plan going on for us; a very serious plan too going for us. Everybody is important. We don't like or want a situation where we bring this person today or tomorrow you remove that person. Even if you're going to remove or even if you're going bring, as you people call it 'people from outside.' It should be an expert that knows better than everybody that is here, and that means that our people too must learn on the job. We cannot discard our people. Gone are the days you discard people. We are stuck with these coaches you know. So also we have the likes of (Emmanuel) Amuneke and the rest of them. For the little experience they will have garnered for this little period do you want them to throw such away? That will not be possible," said Green to supersport.com.

Yusuf currently heads the Super Eagles coaching crew with Imama Amapakabo and Kennedy Boboye as assistants in caretaker capacity Nigeria failed to qualify for back-to-back Africa Cup of Nations including next year's edition in Gabon.

But the West African nation will turn their focus to the third and final round of the 2018 Fifa World Cup qualification in Africa, which starts in October.

CREDIT TO:http://www.supersport.com/football/super-eagles/news/160607/Nigeria_in_no_rush_to_fill_Eagles_role