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.
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.
“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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
“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.
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.
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.
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