HEAD coach of the Nigeria national team, Stephen
Keshi has astonishingly revealed that he does not have a team yet as he
continues his “rebuilding project “ with the Super Eagles.
Keshi replaced Samson Siasia as Super Eagles
trainer in 2011 following the latter’s failure to lead Nigeria to the finals of
the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.
He gained legendary status when he became the
first man to win the Africa Nations Cup as a captain and coach after
masterminding success with the Super Eagles at the 2013 Afcon in South Africa.
The 51-year-old gaffer however believes his
current squad is “not the finished article” and is keen to make further
additions in the coming days despite naming an unchanged side for Nigeria’s
last two international fixtures and for the upcoming 2014 World Cupplayoff game
against Ethiopia in Addis Ababa.
“No matter how long you have a team, there
are still one or two players you will see that you will like to bring into the
team. There is no way you are going to have 11 or 18 players for two years and
you don’t see the need to make one or two changes,” Keshi told Supersport.
“If I have one or two good players better
than what I have here, I may have to change.
“It’s part of building (a strong team) too because when they come in, they will have to learn our style of play,” he added.
“It’s part of building (a strong team) too because when they come in, they will have to learn our style of play,” he added.
The “Big Boss” then went down memory lane to
highlight the importance of freshening up the squad with new additions as he
recalled the earliest days of former captain, Sunday Oliseh in the Nigeria
national team.
“When I was captain of the national team, I still recall vividly when in 1993, (coach Clemens) Westerhof introduced a young player called Oliseh into the team.
“When I was captain of the national team, I still recall vividly when in 1993, (coach Clemens) Westerhof introduced a young player called Oliseh into the team.
“A lot of eyebrows were raised because at
that time, the late Thompson Oliha had made that position in midfield his own
with strong performances over the previous four years.
“Oliseh (who went on to amass 63 caps for the
Super Eagles) played marvelously in his first two games for Nigeria and Oliha
was never first choice again.
“My decision to look at new players is not
based on sentiments. I do this in the interest of the country.
“We need players that will get us results and that is the most important thing because the present team is not the finished article,” he said.
“We need players that will get us results and that is the most important thing because the present team is not the finished article,” he said.
Keshi has only lost 4 games in 31 as coach of
the Super Eagles since taking the reins in 2011.
His first defeat was in an international friendly against Egypt on April 12, 2012. He also tasted the bitter pill of defeat when Nigeria lost 0-1 to Peru in another friendly on May 23, 2012.
His first defeat was in an international friendly against Egypt on April 12, 2012. He also tasted the bitter pill of defeat when Nigeria lost 0-1 to Peru in another friendly on May 23, 2012.
Nigeria’s two other losses under Keshi were
recorded at the 2013 Fifa Confederations Cup against Uruguay on June 20 and
Spain on June 23.
Source: Vanguard
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