Give Keshi A Chance - Bewarang

The National President of the Nigeria Football Coaches Association (NFCA) Coach Bitrus Bewarang has made a passionate appeal to the Nigeria Football Federation.

He has called on the NFF to jettison the idea of recruiting a foreign technical assistant for the Super Eagles Head Coach Stephen Keshi.

According the former National Team coach who is the General Manager of Plateau United, Stephen Keshi has met all the targets set for him by the Football Federation, and should be allowed to see through his programmes at the World cup.

 “ I doubt if that speculation is actually from the NFF, because I know that the NFF as presently constituted have the interest of Nigerians coaches at heart.

 “I also know that they have the aim of ensuring that the Super Eagles surpass all their records at the World cup, so they should not be thinking of hiring any technical assistant for Coach Stephen Keshi now, instead they should respect Keshi’s wish of returning his former Assistant Sylvanus Okpala, and supporting him to the fullest to ensure that he present a very solid team for the country in mundial. We should not distract him in whatever ways”.

Continuing, the former Nasarawa United Technical Adviser said, “we should try to learn from the past. Those who are muting such an idea,should realize that Nigeria has never had it well at the World cup whenever they replace their coach after qualification.

“With exemption of 1994 thatClemence Westerhof qualified the Super Eagles for its first World cup, and was allowed to lead the team to the mundial in USA, where they performed creditably well, other qualifications have been engulfed in one problem or the other.

“In1998, despite qualifying with a hundred percent winning record, Phillipe Trossuier was shoved aside for Bora Multinovic to lead a rag-tag team to the World cup in France.

“In 2002 Shuaibu Amodu was not allowed to lead his team to Japan /Korea World cup, the performance of the team was nothing to write home about.

“Same scenario replayed itself in 2010 as Shuaibu Amodu was jettison for Lars Lagerback to lead the team to South Africa.

“The performance of the teamremains a nightmare to all football lovers in the country and beyond. All these boils down to the fact that the team is always distracted before each of these tournaments.

“People should have confidence in our indigenous Coaches. Stephen Keshi has performed beyond the expectations of many, and should be given all the necessary support to lead his team to the World Cup in Brazil.

“I remain very optimistic that he would do the country proud. The Nigeria Football Coaches Association is solidly behind him, and we have no doubt on his capabilities” he concluded.

It would be recalled that Coach Stephen Keshi assisted Shuaibu Amodu to qualify the Super Eagles for the 2000 Japan/Korea FIFA World cup, but were sacked thereafter.

He also qualified Togo to their first and only World cup in 1998, and was also deprived of the opportunity of leading the Hawks of Togo to the tournament in Germany.

In recent times, speculations have been high that the NFF is muting the idea of engaging a foreign technical assistant for Super Eagles before the World Cup slated for June this year.